


New Light

by sonderwalker



Series: time travel/ fix-it stories [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Padmé Amidala, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Hurt/Comfort, I just want them to be happy, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Travel Fix-It, anakin wakes up on post ROTJ and we go from there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 37,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24105244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonderwalker/pseuds/sonderwalker
Summary: When Luke removes his mask on the death star, Vader, now Anakin Skywalker again thinks that this is the end. As he takes his last breath and look at his son, he can't help but wonder what would have happened had things ended differently. If he could have been the Jedi knight that his son became. Accepting his fate, he prepared himself to finally let go, only to open his eyes and find himself back in the clone wars, on Mortis. Now fully aware of Sidious's plans, Anakin knew that he must be stopped, but how will he be able to beat the dark lord of the sith this time?
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CT-27-5555 | Fives | ARC-5555 & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: time travel/ fix-it stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769134
Comments: 824
Kudos: 1624





	1. human

**Author's Note:**

> i don't usually name the chapters for my stories but i have made an acceptation for this one.

Anakin closed his eyes and tried to breath. Without the help of the suit, he found that his lungs burned with the effort to keep his body alive. Above, he could see Luke’s face. Anakin smiled softly- he looked the same way he had looked when he was a young jedi knight. He even had a similar haircut. Luke’s face went in and out of focus, and Anakin closed his eyes.

He knew this was the end.

And he was so, so sorry for it all.

He opened his eyes and saw nothing but black. He couldn’t feel anything. The weight of his suit was gone, but so was the weight of the rest of his body.

_“Am I finally dead?”_ He wondered.

_“No, not quite”_ A voice responded. Anakin looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. It sounded so familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he knew that voice from.

“Hello? Who’s there?” Anakin asked. He kept looking around, trying to find the source of the voice.

_“The answer to that question, lies behind you, not ahead.”_ The voice responded.

“I do not understand. Show yourself!” Anakin demanded.

_“So be it.”_ The voice responded. A glow caught his eye. Ahead, he could see the silhouettes of Obi-Wan and Yoda, standing next to each other and facing away from him. He began to slowly move towards them, unsure of how to respond. As he reached out his hand to touch Obi-Wan’s shoulder, the ground gave out beneath his feet, and he was swallowed by the dark.

“What have you done to him?” Obi-Wan yelled. Anakin frowned. Something was very, very wrong. His body felt heavy, but not the way the suit felt heavy. This body was lighter, but the limbs felt different. He curled his fists and realized that his left arm was made of flesh. He curled his toes and realized that his legs were also made of flesh and bone. He was able to breathe again, all on his own. He reached out into the force, trying to sense where he was and what was going on. The feedback he got was overwhelming. The planet itself responded to his thoughts. He knew there was only once place in the galaxy where he had felt such a strong connection.

_“Mortis.”_ Anakin thought to himself. He was back on Mortis.

“Nothing that he wouldn’t do himself.” A sinister voice replied. _The Son._ Anakin recognized that voice. But if that was the son, and he was back in his body before becoming Vader…

Anakin opened his eyes, confirming his thoughts. Above him stood The Son, his back turned to him as he faced Obi-Wan. In front of him stood his master, still young and wearing his robes from during the clone wars. Anakin could feel the heat of the lava behind his body, and quickly rolled away, not wanting to repeat that incident ever again.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan shouted. Anakin looked up, and saw his master’s face, full of concern and worry.

_“Please don’t look at me like that. You have no idea what I have done”_ Anakin thought to himself.

“So, I see you survived.” The Son said. Anakin looked at him. The Son was just as ugly as he remembered. The Son laughed.

“You’re awfully quiet, Skywalker. Did you like what you saw? What you did?” The Son taunted him. Anakin frowned- he did _not_ like what he saw, thank you for asking. The Son used the force and slammed Obi-Wan into the cliff behind him. Anakin kicked The Son’s feet out from underneath him. He sat up slowly, still relishing in the feeling of having his body restored. There was so much to process. He couldn’t remember the last time he was able to see this clearly, hear this clearly, or even smell this clearly. He could see The Son running over to the speeder that was left behind and taking it. He rode away, and Anakin watched him go, still in shock over having his sense restored.

“Anakin, are you alright?” Obi-Wan asked as he approached him. Anakin closed his eyes and shook his head. Even that motion, the feeling of hair on his neck, the feeling of the robes on his skin, felt so foreign, so strange that he was trying not to flinch at the sensations from his own body.

“Do you think you can stand? I’ll help you up.” He asked gently. Anakin took his outstretched hand and was shocked at how _light_ his body was when Obi-Wan helped pull him up. Anakin stood on his feet, trying to balance his weight between his flesh legs. The suit was so heavy, and tilted his body forward, that he had to adjust how he walked, how he stood to accommodate. He took a step forward, trying to get used to his new- or old footing, and fell back down. Anakin was shocked, he hadn’t realized how little effort it required to take a step, to walk, in his old body.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan shouted as he reached out to catch him. Anakin flinched when he felt his arm wrap around his waist. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt a human touch him, to be able to feel the warmth from someone else’s hand.

“I can stand.” He muttered quietly, surprised at how his voice sounded. He realized with a start that he had forgotten what he had sounded like. He spent so much time talking with that vocalizer, that he had forgotten what his own voice sounded like.

“We have to get out of here.” Obi-Wan said. “The Son took our only speeder, and we cannot let him get off of the planet.”

“Where is Ahsoka?” He asked, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him at the thought of his former padawan, now current padawan.

“She’s on the ship, repairing the damage caused by the crash.”

“The Son is probably on his way there right now.” Anakin said.

“Then we need to get out of here and warn her.” Obi-Wan said. “Ahsoka?” He called out while raising his wrist to speak into his commlink. Anakin looked up, watching the embers from the lava flow up into the sky, and twinkle like the stars. He had forgotten what they looked like.

“Yes, Master?” Ahsoka responded. Anakin flinched at the sound of her young voice, remembering how she sounded on Malachor. Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin and frowned. He had never seen Anakin act like this before and knew that something was very wrong with his friend.

“I found Anakin and we’re alright. But The Son is heading towards you. You must disable the ship now. We cannot allow for him to escape.” Obi-Wan said with an urgent tone.

“But I just fixed the ship.” Ahsoka responded, exasperated.

“Ahsoka, please listen to me.” Obi-Wan pleaded.

“Yes, Master.” She muttered. Anakin knew that she was probably rolling her eyes, but he couldn’t blame Obi-Wan for his tone. He knew that if The Son could escape then he would kill them all.

Anakin looked up at the cliffs, and then back down to Obi-Wan.

“Well, I don’t see any other way out of this. Let’s start climbing.” He said as he pulled himself up.

Anakin and Obi-Wan climbed up the cliffs in silence. He kept replaying the scenes of the emperor on the death star repeatedly. How Luke stood for what he believed in, even when all hope seemed lost. The commitment to his friends, his sister. Anakin was so proud of the person the boy had grown into.

And so sad that he wasn’t there to witness any of it.

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Yes?”

“I said that you’re quieter than usual. Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked. Anakin could feel Obi-Wan staring at him, not out of fear or sorrow, but out of concern for him.

“No.” He said softly. He didn’t know what to think of his current situation. He had just traveled back in time and was now in the body of his 21-year-old self. Which meant that Palpatine was still the chancellor. Which meant that Padme was still alive. And he was a Jedi knight, the hero of the grand army of the republic. Anakin sighed. He couldn’t remember what his past self was like; he had spent so long trying to repress Anakin Skywalker, The Hero with No Fear, that he couldn’t remember how he walked, how he spoke, what he liked to eat. He couldn’t even remember the feeling of the ground underneath his feet.

They both looked to the left as Ahsoka came around on the other speeder and pulled up beside them.

“What took you so long?” Obi-Wan asked as he hopped onto the back of the speeder. Anakin followed silently, shocked at seeing Ahsoka in the flesh for the first time in years. Shocked at how _young_ she was.

“I was busy!” She shouted. “But I was able to disable the ship. She held up the ignition key for the small shuttle. “He won’t be able to go anywhere with out this.” She smiled and clipped it back onto her belt.

“Did you see The Son?” Obi-Wan asked as Ahsoka steered the speeder away from the lava.

“Yes. You were right, he was trying to get off the planet.” She replied.

“We have to find The Father.” Anakin said. He was trying to recall what happened on mortis, but all he could remember was that after The Father took him away from The Son, and they fought. To stop the conflict, The Father used The Son’s dagger and killed himself, which caused The Son to kill himself. Anakin didn’t really remember how they got to that point, but he knew that they had to start somewhere. As they approached the top of the cliff, Anakin saw the outline of The Father standing by the ledge.

He had been waiting for them.

The three of them hopped off the speeder, and The Father spoke to them.

“We must stop my son.” He said. “Come with me.” He reached out his arms, embracing the three of them. Anakin closed his eyes, trying to center himself, and process all the things that he was sensing and feeling. When he opened them again, he was laying on a cold stone floor. He was surprised at how the cold felt, and how the hard ground felt against his body. He sat up and saw Ahsoka and Obi-Wan laying on the ground, unmoving.

“They are only asleep.” The Father said from behind. Anakin turned around and stood as The Father approached. “I see you now know the truth.” Anakin was silent.

“And you know what must be done.” The Father continued.

“Yes, I do.” Anakin responded, looking back towards Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. He and The Father watched as they regained consciousness and sat up. Anakin heard a speeder approaching and looked up. The Son had found them- wherever they were and was coming for them now.

He landed and hopped off the speeder. The Son approached them with a smile on his face, but his eyes were full of the darkside. Anakin’s hand went towards his saber, but he hesitated. Last time he tried that; The Son just threw him aside. He had to think of something else. He frowned, trying to remember how The Father got the dagger that he used to kill himself when he saw it on The Son’s belt. His eyes widened.

_You know what must be done._

Anakin used the force to summon the dagger to his hand and relished in the feeling of having everything come so easily to him once again. The Son ran forward, his arm outstretched, reaching for the dagger. Anakin stepped to the side and drove it through his heart. He heard The Son gasp in shock and pulled the dagger out of his chest. The Son dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, and gasping for air. Anakin looked at The Father, his face expressionless. He held out his hand, and Anakin handed the dagger over to him. They watched silently as he drove the dagger through his own heart, and collapsed to the ground, next to his son. Anakin turned around to face Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say something, but then the planet began to shake. They looked around as large chunks of stone fell from above and watched as it looked like the stars were falling out of the sky.

“We have to get out of here!” Obi-Wan shouted. The three of them ran towards what looked like an exit, but the rocks kept falling, and the last thing Anakin remembered is crushing weight of one of them falling on top of him.

“General Skywalker.” Rex’s voice rang out. Anakin opened his eyes and sat up. They were back inside the shuttle that he assumed they came to Mortis on. He could hear Ahsoka and Obi-Wan shifting in their seats.

“General Skywalker?” Rex said again.

“I can hear you.” He replied.

“We were worried about you sir; you were gone from the scopes for a moment there.” Anakin frowned.

“We were gone for more than a moment.” He said. He saw Rex’s concerned face stare back at him.

“Sir, I don’t understand. You’ll have to explain.” He said while turning his head slightly.

“You would not believe me if I told you.” Anakin said as he grabbed onto the yoke of the ship and steered it towards the Resolute.


	2. home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some parts of this chapter will be referencing the Vader comics. I went back and reread them so I could get a better idea of how Vader spoke, and then try to combine their styles into a way that I could see redeemed Anakin speaking. Please leave feedback! It means a lot :)

“Sir, we will be arriving in a few hours. Should I patch you through to the Jedi Council?” Cody asked.

“No, no, it’s fine, Cody. I will just meet with them in person after we land.” Obi-Wan said while stroking his beard. While he tried to keep his report short, he emphasized that the council needed to meet over their findings on Mortis. He had never seen one person use the force in a way Anakin did, able to bring back someone from death. He was worried at first, that Ahsoka hadn’t fully recovered, and made sure that she saw a medical droid as soon as they returned to the resolute. He also sent Anakin along with her- not just to stay with his padawan, but he was deeply concerned at how his former apprentice had been acting recently. While the medical droid found nothing wrong with Ahsoka other than exhaustion, it was able to state that Anakin had received some kind of head trauma. The droid administered a standard painkiller and ordered Anakin to rest for the next 48 standard hours. That was the thing, that he was most worried about explaining to the council. Obi-Wan had no idea what happened to him once The Son took him, other than he had been hit in the head by their attacker. He felt a change in the force, and when he arrived, he saw Anakin’s body laying by a river of lava. But how he got there, and how The Son hurt him eluded him, and Anakin would not say much more about it. Obi-Wan sighed, Anakin said he didn’t remember much about how he got there- which Obi-Wan did believe. He mentioned to Anakin about something they had said before The Son had taken him, and he had no idea what he was talking about. But when Obi-Wan tried to ask about what The Son did to him, Anakin grew very quiet, and very reserved. The last time Obi-Wan had seen him react that way was when he was being scolded as a young padawan. But he was not a padawan anymore, and there wasn’t any scolding to be done. Obi-Wan looked up suddenly as the doors to the comm room opened, and Anakin walked in.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Obi-Wan asked.

“It has been 48 hours.” Anakin replied coolly. Obi-Wan looked at his friend’s face- although the droid ordered him to rest, Anakin looked like he hadn’t slept properly in weeks. 

“Generals,” Cody said. “We are now entering Coruscant’s gravitational field, and the resolute will prepare to orbit the planet. The shuttles are waiting in the hangar to begin to take men down to the surface, and land at the jedi temple hangar.”

“Very good, Cody. We will join them.” Obi-Wan said as he turned to leave the room. Anakin silently followed him out and down the hallways. Obi-Wan sighed.

“Anakin, I know the emdee told you to rest, but you look horrible.” Obi-Wan commented.

“Thanks.” Anakin said with a straight face.

“I am serious. Once we are back at the temple, I want you to see a healer.” Obi-Wan said. “And that’s an order.” He added on. They walked through the hangar doors, and saw their men loading into shuttles and leaving for the surface. Anakin spotted Ahsoka a few meters in front of him, talking to Rex. He caught her eye, and she waved him over.

“Master!” Ahsoka said as Anakin approached. “I was just telling Rex about how when we get back to the temple from missions, we always go out to Dex’s Diner for dinner!”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about this, Sir.” Rex said with a small smile. “Although now that the commander mentions it, a hot cup of caf does sound really good.” Anakin tried to smile but it fell flat. He didn’t remember that he and Ahsoka did that. He honestly had no idea what Dex’s food tasted like anymore, or how he was going to trick Ahsoka into thinking that he was still the same Anakin that had been training her for the past year.

“You two will not be going anywhere.” Obi-Wan said “Until Anakin sees a temple healer.” He crossed his arms and looked at the two of them.

“I already saw the medical droid.” Anakin said. “And I am fine now.” There was some truth to that statement. Anakin had taken his 48 hours of medical leave and used it to his advantage- meditating and reaching out into the force. His visions were filled with an assortment of things- some of which he was still trying to decipher. But the one, the one of Luke standing on that island alone, was stuck in his mind. He tried to call out, reach for him, but Luke never turned around, never even noticed that someone was calling his name. Although it was confusing, he was able to ground himself better, and see clearer. The force had always been there, easily within his grasp. But, now that he had his old body back, the force felt more like a companion. It was always with him.

“We’ll get a healer to give us their opinion on that.” Obi-Wan snapped as he stepped into the shuttle. Anakin rolled his eyes and followed him. Like as if he were going to take having his limbs back for granted.

“Truthfully, I don’t see anything seriously wrong with you.” Luminara said as she stepped back from Anakin. “I understand Master Kenobi’s concerns, but the medical droid did not miss anything. You need to rest, not only for your head injury, but truthfully, you look exhausted, Skywalker. Although, I am sure Master Kenobi has already told you that much.”

“He has.” Anakin said as he got off the examination table. Even though he had been back in his own body for several standard days now, the feeling of standing on two flesh legs still felt foreign to him. “Thank you.” He said as he walked out of the examination room. Ahsoka stood outside, staring out of the huge windows that opened to the Coruscant skyline.

“Ahsoka.” Anakin said, her name still feeling foreign in his mouth.

“Anakin!” She exclaimed as she turned around. “Are you ready to go? Did Master Luminara say you were okay?” She asked, her eyes bright.

“Yes, everything is fine.” He replied while holding up his hand.

“Great! Because I’m starving!” She said. “Let’s go to Dex’s!” She said as she began to walk away. Anakin stopped for a moment, staring out at the skyline, and remembering standing here, in this very spot, staring at the speeders passing by through his mask. Walking through the empty halls of the temple, going through a library full of books that no longer had a librarian.

“Master?” Ahsoka called out when she noticed that he wasn’t following her. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Yes, I am coming, Ahsoka.” Anakin said as he shook his head and began to follow her. They walked through the temple, and as they passed more and more jedi, Anakin felt his façade begin to crumble. He remembered running his lightsaber though these people, who were smiling and greeting him. He remembered how the clones gunned them down, showing no mercy. He remembered walking through these halls with Palpatine as his master revealed more and more about the ways of the sith to him. But then, the temple had been quiet and cold. They were the only living beings that were inside, aside from the guards and inquisitors. But now, now the temple was full of life. The hallways were bright, and the light that shone through the windows was warm and welcoming. Younglings chased each other down the hallway, and a disgruntled creche master ran after them. Everyone’s presence in the force, was so bright, too bright in fact, that it felt like it burned. He could not remember the last time- no he did. The last time the temple was so full of life was mere hours before he came through here and slaughtered them all. And he spared no one. Not even the younglings.

“Master, are you alright? I don’t know that much about how human biology works, but you look paler than usual.” Ahsoka remarked. Her words snapped him out of his train of thought, and he blinked, trying to gather himself.

He took a deep breath in, trying to center himself in the force, but the light was overwhelming. The sounds, the sights, the smells, were all too much. After spending so long in the suit, he had come to welcome all that it had shielded him from. But now without its protection, he could not escape.

“Master?” Ahsoka asked again.

“I am alright, Ahsoka.” Anakin said.

“But-“ Ahsoka began.

“You said you were hungry. We usually eat at Dex’s Diner once we return from missions. Let’s go.” Anakin said, cutting her off. He looked at her, and saw a small smile starting to form on her face, but he could see the worry in her eyes. He wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t worry, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else.

Diner with Ahsoka had gone as smoothly as he thought it could have gone. His apprentice talked most of the time, telling him about all the padawan gossip that had been happening while they were gone. He ordered a simple looking dish, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes at his order, commenting that he always ordered the same thing when they returned from longer missions. She and Rex had also been correct about what they were talking about earlier. The caf that they had been served was warn, and Anakin relished in the bitter and full taste. Ahsoka gave him an odd look, pointing out that he usually drank his caf with cream and sugar. But he had simply shrugged and told her that he was trying something different. She rolled her eyes again, and Anakin smiled- not only because Ahsoka seemed happy, but because it seemed as though he was starting to remember what his old life was like

Who Anakin Skywalker was.

Which brought him to his current predicament. Anakin sat in the driver’s seat of a speeder, contemplating if he should go. And see her. Just the though about his wife, who was now alive filled him with a deep, soul crushing sorrow. Thinking about how Sidious tricked him to give up everything and burn it to the ground made his blood boil with hatred for that man. Anakin sighed- a motion that he was still not used to doing and thought about his wife. Though about the last time her saw her was in a vision. And how she had leapt away from him, towards her own doom. Claiming to not know who he was. Claiming that Anakin Skywalker was dead. But he was not, and neither was she. She was probably in her apartment, standing on her balcony, waiting for her husband to come home. But the man that left here and the man that was returning to her were two different people. Anakin turned the ignition and steered the speeder out of the hangar and towards her apartment.

As he rode there, he thought about what he had told Luke on Bespin.

_“You cannot escape the truth.”_

He smirked- the force had an interesting way of showing him how true his words really were. He pulled up to her apartment, and saw his wife standing there, waiting for him. He got out of the speeder quickly, and stood at the edge of the balcony, watching as Padme ran towards him with open arms. She threw herself towards him, wrapping her arms around him. Anakin flinched. He could not- no he would not even think about the last time he had felt her in his arms. He slowly wrapped his arms around her frame and began to sob.

Padme pulled away, trying to get a better look at her husband’s face. She had only seen him cry like this when his mother had died, and he had never flinched away from her touch before.

“Anakin,” She said as she rested a hand on his cheek, “Anakin look at me, please.” She begged. But her husband just shook his head and his tears continued to fall, landing on the cold ground between their feet.


	3. i love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!

“Please, really look at me.” Padme said as she placed both of her hands on his cheek. Anakin reached up and held her hand in is, still in shock over being able to hold her hand after all these years alone, trapped in that suit. He slowly lifted his head, the tears still streaming down his face.

“Anakin, what happened?” She said, searching his face for answers. But he just shook his head again, pursing his lips as he tried not to sob. She could feel his hand tremble as is held hers, and feel his body shake in her embrace.

“Come on, let’s go inside.” She said as she walked towards the couch, his hand still in hers. She felt him hesitate, and she turned back around. Anakin was looking past her, at the inside of the apartment with an expression of deep sorrow. He remembered coming in here, breaking apart the furniture, going through her things. Looking for evidence of their children that had hidden from the monster that he had become.

 _She was the mother_. He had told the protocol droid that he brought with him.

“Ani,” Padme said firmly. His eyes met hers, and he nodded, following her inside.

Padme sat down on the couch and patted the space next to her. Usually, Anakin would sit right there, and pull her into his lap. He would tell her how much he loved her, how beautiful she was, even if she hadn’t done her hair, or her makeup. But now he sat next to her in silence. His hands in his lap. His head facing the floor.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Padme said as she rested a hand on his shoulder. Anakin flinched at her touch. She felt his muscles tense under her hand, and she tried not to show her concern on her face. Anakin ran his hand through his hair and looked up at her.

“I-“ He began, his voice hoarse. Padme leaned forward, eager to hear what her husband had to say.

“What is it?” Padme asked again.

“There is so much I want to tell you.” Anakin whispered, turning away to face the floor again. “But I can’t.”

“What do you mean?” Padme asked.

“I can’t say. There’s so much that happened, and I… I am sorry.” Anakin said, his voice cracking on the last word.

“Anakin, you have to talk to me.” Padme said. “Please.” She begged; Anakin looked at her.

“Do not look at me like that.” He said. “You can’t” He whispered. He took a shaky breath in.

“Why not?” Padme replied. “I’m worried about you, I love you!” Anakin closed his eyes as the tears began to fall again.

_If she knew the truth, she would hate you. In your anger, you chose a different path. You killed her._

He took another deep breath. He would rather die than be trapped in that suit and become Vader again. He could feel his emotions; the hate, the anger, the suffering flowing through his body. But he knew, from years of experience, that these emotions would not help him in the end. In the end, it was love.

“We went on a mission. To respond to a distress signal.”

“I remember. You mentioned that it was over 2000 years old, and the council had sent you, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to investigate.”

“They did.” Anakin said, trying to dig up the memory. “But when we arrived, it was not what we were expecting.”

“What do you mean?” Padme inquired, leaning forward. Anakin frowned.

“I am trying to remember.” He said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Between the sheer amount of sensory input from the temple and trying to dig up memories that were over 20 years old, he found that he was developing a serious headache.

“Does your head hurt?” Padme asked. Anakin looked up at her and blinked. “You always do that whenever you get headaches.” Anakin slowly smiled at her, and she smiled back, relieved that he was being more responsive towards her.

“At some point, we were attacked and separated. I do not really remember what happened before- the medical droid said I had been hit in the head. But I remember seeing-“

“Master Ani!” C-3PO exclaimed as he waddled into the room, his arms above his head. “Thank the maker you’re here! My joints are not moving as smoothly as I would like and I hear that there is a new upgrade out for protocol droids such as myself which looks very interesting and I must say that-“

“It’s good to see you as well, 3PO.” Anakin said as he stood to inspect the droid. The last time he remembered seeing the droid was on Bespin, and well, he was happy that he was now all in one piece. Anakin smiled at the thought of Luke fixing him up the same way that he had.

“Oh yes,” Padme chimed in. “3PO has been going on and on about this new update that he wants to have installed.” She rolled her eyes.

“Well, Mistress Padme, I only want to be able to perform my job as a protocol droid to the best of my ability. After all I am fluent in over-“

“Six million forms of communication.” Anakin said as he smiled. _Somethings really don’t change._

“Hey,” Padme said as she rolled over, looking at her husbands very still frame. “I know you’re awake, Ani.” She whispered. His shoulders tensed and he rolled over to face her. In the dim light of the bedroom, she could see the tears in his eyes reflecting the lights of the city back at her. A single tear slid down his cheek. She reached up and wiped it away, cupping his cheek in his hand.

“I love you.” She whispered.

“I know. I love you too.” He whispered back at her, reaching up and lacing his fingers around hers. She smiled softly at him, and he reached over, brushing back a stray curl from her face.

“You are so beautiful.”

“That’s only because I’m so in love.” She whispered back while smiling at him.

* * *

“You’re awfully quiet today, Anakin.” Obi-Wan remarked as they walked through the gardens.

“I don’t have much to say.” Anakin replied, which was true. He was busy taking everything in again for a second time. The birds chirped above him in the trees, and he marveled at all the colors of the plants around them. In the suit, everything appeared as a red haze, his ruined eyes unable to decipher things without the protective lenses that the suit provided. He had forgotten that the grass crunching underneath his feet made a sound, or the way the waterfall ahead of them created a roaring noise in the background. Like his eyesight, his hearing had also been destroyed on Mustufar. The suit, again, provided for him in ways that his body could not anymore, but it could not replace his natural senses.

“Well, that’s different.” Obi-Wan said as he frowned. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? Did you go see a healer?”

“Yes.” Anakin replied, slightly annoyed at the questioning.

“And what did they say?”

“That I should rest.” Anakin replied coolly.

“And have you been?”

“Yes.” Anakin said. There was some truth to that statement. Once he had finally fallen asleep- partly in thanks to the painkillers Padme had given him, he found that he woke feeling less discombobulated. He didn’t even know that sleeping for that long felt like that. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept for more than two hours at a time without being sedated. It was another thing that he would be sure to not take for granted.

“And eating well?” Anakin rolled his eyes but stopped- he couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten. He realized with a start that he had never felt hungry in the first place

“I forgot.” He muttered.

“You forgot?” Obi-Wan exclaimed “How did you forget to eat?”

“I wasn’t hungry.” He watched as Obi-Wan furrowed his brows.

“When was the last time you ate something?” He asked.

“At the diner, last night.” Anakin replied.

“That was over 12 hours ago. Come on.” Obi-Wan said as he turned around to exit the gardens.

“Where are you going?” Anakin asked as he crossed his arms.

“To get you something to eat. Come along.” Obi-Wan replied while gesturing with his hand. Anakin rolled his eyes but followed along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you are all ready for a bunch of angst. the right path isn't the easy one. also, I added in Anakin running his hands through his hair when he’s nervous as a kind of nervous tic for two reasons. 1) now that he has hair again he realises he likes how it feels when he runs his (or padme runs her) hands through his hair and 2) I play with my hair when I’m nervous


	4. wisdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing redemption arcs is not easy, but there is something really satisfying about it.

Anakin followed Obi-Wan silently back to their shared apartment. Obi-Wan opened the door and Anakin walked in behind him. Obi-Wan walked over towards the kitchen counter and started messing around with something. Anakin sat down at the small, simple kitchen table. Looking at Obi-Wan again, Anakin noticed that he was making tea for the two of them.

“What would you like to eat, Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked while grabbing two mugs. Anakin shrugged.

“I’m not sure.” He said while resting his chin on his hand. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. Anakin smiled slightly when he heard him mutter about how Anakin was impossible but selected several fruits that they had laying around anyway for him to eat. Anakin looked away, and out towards their living room window, where all of Qui-Gon’s plants were still hanging. He remembered when he was a padawan, and how Obi-Wan originally didn’t want to keep them, but he did anyway, and they had flourished under his care.

“Here.” Obi-Wan says as he hands Anakin the cup of tea and the muja fruit. Anakin turned back to face Obi-Wan and watched as his former master sat down in the seat across from him.

“Well? Are you going to start eating or not?” Obi-Wan asked as he picked up his own fruit. Anakin rolled his eyes and picked up the fruit, thinking about how long since he had eaten a fruit. Or even held one in his flesh hand. He slowly began to eat, and the two sat there in silence.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat “The council would like to speak with you and Ahsoka about what happened on Mortis.” Obi-Wan began. Anakin took a sip of tea before responding.

“I thought you already gave them your report?”

“Yes, well, they want to hear from you two directly about what happened.” Obi-Wan replied while watching the steam rise from his cup. “I told them about Qui-Gon, but I don’t think it was- “

“Real.” Anakin finished. Obi-Wan looked up at him “Do you?” He asked.

“I…” Anakin trailed off. He knew it was real. He knew that it was possible for one to retain your consciousness after death, otherwise he wouldn’t be sitting here right now. “I do.” He said quietly. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“And why is that?” He asked. “Is it because of what you saw when The Son took you?” Anakin looked away from Obi-Wan, unable to face him as those harsh memories came back to haunt him.

“Yes.” He said quietly. “Yes.” He repeated as he looked Obi-Wan in the eyes.

“The council wants to know what happened with you and The Son.” Obi-Wan said. Anakin felt fear begin to creep into his heart. They cannot know about Vader. They cannot know about him. “I know you don’t remember much but, anything you do remember.”

“No.” Anakin said while shaking his head. “I… I can’t talk about it.” He whispered. Obi-Wan was shocked, in part of the emotions that were rolling off of Anakin in waves. The regret, the sorrow. Obi-Wan didn’t even know that Anakin was feeling that way, or that he even could. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to speak, but Ahsoka came into the apartment and walked over to join them at the table.

“Well, now that we are all here.” Obi-Wan said while standing. “Let’s go see the council.” He said while looking directly at Anakin, who wouldn’t meet his gaze in return. Ahsoka looked between the two of them, her gaze lingering on her master for a moment longer as she watched him slowly get up and walked out of the door of their apartment.

* * *

“Ahsoka, how are you feeling?” Plo Koon asked as he laced his fingers together.

“I’m fine now, Master Plo.” Ahsoka said while shrugging. “I don’t really remember how it happened, but I’m glad that Master Skywalker was there to help me out.” She said while taking a glance at her master. He looked back at her and smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. The two of them turned back to face Master Yoda and Master Windu.

“And what about you, Skywalker?” Mace Windu asked as he leaned forward in his seat.

“I also don’t remember much.” Anakin replied. “I’m not sure how I ended up where I did.”

“Obi-Wan said he found you laying next to a river of lava and that you were unresponsive at first.” Anakin looked over towards his former master. He could see the worry in his eyes, but he did not let it show on his face.

“That is correct.” Anakin replied coolly while turning back to face the rest of the council.

“Sure, you are, of this, young Skywalker?” Master Yoda said while pointing at him.

“I am.” Anakin replied coolly, looking Master Yoda in the eye. The old master leaned back in his seat and was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“Go you may, Padawan Tano.” Ahsoka’s eyes widened in shock and she looked back and forth between her master and the rest of the council. Anakin stared straight ahead, his expression remaining neutral. Ahsoka bowed and began to walk away, taking one last glance at her master before exiting the council chambers.

_“You have been to Ryloth before, have you not, Lord Vader?” The Emperor questioned him from the same spot that Master Yoda once sat in, surrounded by imperial guards instead of jedi masters._

_“Long ago, Master. Before I learned wisdom.” Vader replied, kneeling in the same spot where he currently stood._

_“Of course,” The Emperor said while lacing his fingers together, a cold smile growing on his face._

“Skywalker,” Master Windu said while frowning. “Are positive, that you remember _nothing_ about this dark entity and what he did to you?” Anakin looked over towards Master Windu.

“I am.” He repeated, trying to suppress his annoyance at the council’s questions.

“Search your memories again, you should.” Master Yoda suggested. Anakin frowned- there as definitely something else going on. He realized, that Obi-Wan had already given the council his report about the events on Mortis. Which meant that they wanted to know more about what had happened to him. Anakin wouldn’t be surprised at all if Obi-Wan had mentioned what would appear to be a sudden change in his personality. He closed his eyes, trying to piece together the things that had happened then with what he knew now. Anakin thought about the daughter- whose lifeforce he had used to save his apprentice. He thought about what she looked like, and the portrait of her in the shrine. His thoughts lingered on her when he noticed something.

The bird on her right shoulder looked very, very familiar. Anakin frowned again, trying to think about where else he had seen that bird.

_“Lord Vader, there were no survivors.” A snowtrooper said to him as he approached. But Vader was quiet. He had to see it for himself. The snow had covered much of the ship, but he could still see the markings of the open circle fleet, their red marking contracting the bleak snow surrounding them. He walked forward, slowly, looking, searching, for anything to confirm what had happened._

_And then he saw it._

_He slowly knelt in the snow, the movement causing the remaining parts of his limbs to scream in pain, but he didn’t mind. It was what he used to fuel his rage. He grabbed the light saber out of the snow and examined it in his hands. Its weight felt so familiar, the force signature even more so, to the point that it hurt. He gently brushed the snow off it and ignited it- just to see. He had to see. To confirm. He followed the blue blade up to its end and saw a bird. The scene changed, but the bird was still there, fluttering around in the darkness of… wherever he was. Anakin watched as the bird landed on the arm of a torgruta woman._

_“You can’t save your master, and I can’t save mine.” He heard Ahsoka say softly. But this wasn’t the Ahsoka who just left the room. No, this was the Ahsoka who he had been trying to kill, hunting her down for years, only for a hand to reach out and grab her at the last moment. At the time, he was confused, enraged that his plans had been foiled._

_But that was before he learned wisdom._

Anakin’s eyes snapped open and he gasped. He looked around the room and saw the members of the jedi council staring at him, their faces a mixture of concern and worry.

“Remembered something, did you?” Master Yoda asked while tilting his head to the side.

“Not exactly.” Anakin replied. He opened his mouth and closed it again. He knew he had to say something, but he couldn’t tell them the full story. No one would believe him.

“I saw a bird.” He began slowly. “On Mortis. The Daughter had this bird that sat on her right shoulder, and I saw it.”

“Where did you see it?” Obi-Wan asked, leaning forward in his chair. Anakin looked at his master, who was no longer trying to hide the concern that he felt.

“I’m not sure.” Anakin said, looking away from Obi-Wan. “I don’t know.”

“Describe what you saw, where your location was, what you were looking at.” Master Mundi requested.

“There was nothing.” Anakin replied softly. “It was dark.”

“Nothing?” Master Yoda asked.

“Nothing.” Anakin replied.

“The Anakin Skywalker that left here, and the Anakin Skywalker that returned. The same person they are not.” Master Yoda said while pointing at Anakin. “Feel it in the force, we all can. Know something serious happened, the council does.” He was quiet for a moment, before asking another question.

“Who are you?” Anakin flinched slightly. How should he answer that question _? Jedi killer, Sith lord, Jedi knight, a general in the grand army of the republic?_ None of those titles felt right to him. He was who he was.

“I am Anakin Skywalker.” Anakin told the council, surprised at how confident he sounded. But in the end, it was only him. It was always him. And he realized that now. That was the wisdom that he had gained. He watched as a smile formed on Master Yoda’s face.

“Go you may, Anakin Skywalker.” He said. Anakin took one last look at the jedi in the chamber, before bowing slightly and leaving.

“Ahsoka.” Anakin said once he had left the room. Standing by the lifts was his apprentice, whose face lit up as he approached her.

“Master, I was wondering if you would like to head down to the dojo and spar with me?” Ahsoka said while smiling. Anakin nodded, and she turned around to press the button on the lift for them to head down to a training floor. They stepped into the lift together, and rode down silently, his mind still lingering on the council meeting from earlier.

“Is everything alright?” Ahsoka asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes.” Anakin replied, glancing down at her.

“What did the council say to you?” She asked him.

“They were asking me about what had happened on Mortis.” Anakin responded.

“And what did you say?”

“I don’t remember much.”

“Neither do I.” Ahsoka responded and sighed. “Hopefully, we can put this behind us.”

“Hopefully.” Anakin said. The lift stopped and the two of them walked out and headed towards the dojos. Anakin watched Ahsoka walk in front of him. He noticed that there were little things that he had missed before, like the slight bounce in her step, that kept making him realize how young she was, and how young she had been when she had lost everything. Because of him.

Ahsoka had walked towards a training mat at the end of the room, which he suspected was one that they usually used. She turned to face him, igniting her light sabers, and standing in a modified form IV stance.

_The weight and force signature were so familiar it hurt._

Anakin ignited his own blade, the blue glow feeling far more welcoming than the red. His old saber in his hands felt like he was finally getting to meet with an old friend. He also made sure that it was on training mode. Ahsoka leapt towards him, her blades swinging down, and Anakin blocked. And blocked. And blocked again. Ahsoka was starting to pant, and he could sense her frustration. She hadn’t landed a single attack so far, and he had barley broken a sweat.

“Focus, Ahsoka.” Anakin said, holding his blade centered with his body. Ahsoka rushed him again, and he was prepared. He sidestepped, grabbing her wrist, and deactivating her saber. Ahsoka gasped in shock and looked up at her master. She quickly recovered, and swung her other saber at him, but he was ready. He blocked her blow and disarmed her, flinging her other blade across the room.

“Very impressive.” Master Yoda said as he approached the two of them. Anakin and Ahsoka turned to face him as he approached. “Improved, your form has, Padawan.” He said while looking at Ahsoka.

“Thank you, Master.” Ahsoka said while bowing. He looked at Anakin.

“A difficult maneuver, that is. Yet, performed it with ease you did, Skywalker.” He continued.

“Thank you.” Anakin replied. He watched as Master Yoda looked between the two of them, a sparkle in his eyes that made Anakin uneasy.

“Wish to speak to your master, alone I do.” Master Yoda said while looking at Ahsoka. “Take too long, it will not.”

“Yes, Master.” Ahsoka said. She looked back at Anakin. “Does this mean I’ll get to shower first?” Anakin rolled his eyes and laughed, surprising himself.

“Yes but- “

“’Don’t take too long, you don’t want to waste water.’ I know, I know.” Ahsoka said while rolling her eyes. Ahsoka bowed one last time and left the room. Anakin watched her go, and then turned back to face Master Yoda.

“Walk with me, towards the gardens, we will go.” Master Yoda said as he turned to leave. Anakin sighed and followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	5. somebody else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not my best, but i gotta keep the story going so :/ next chapter will be better i swear.

Anakin and Yoda walked in silence towards the gardens. While on their way, Anakin contemplated many things such as how slow Master Yoda walked, or how his stomach hurt from going so long without a proper meal. He could hear Master Yoda’s cane strike the floor with his steps, and he still marveled at how much being in the suit had dulled his sense of hearing. They turned into an entrance and continued walking in silence. Master Yoda stopped in front of an old tree, his back still facing Anakin.

Anakin looked around at where they had ended up. Lessons for the day were already over- and the garden was considerably quieter than it was when he was here earlier with Obi-Wan. While the sounds of the younglings and padawans playing was gone- the sounds of nature remained the same.

“Troubling, Master Kenobi’s report was.” Yoda said as he turned to face Anakin

“Sit.” He gestured towards the ground. Anakin sat down where he was, and Yoda followed. The old master stared at him- and Anakin stared back. He could tell that Yoda was trying to get through his shields- see if there was anything that he was hiding. And he might have been able to get through the shields of a 21-year-old Anakin. But not the shields of a former sith lord.

“Tell me, Skywalker.” Yoda began “What you saw when you saw Qui-Gon Jinn.” Anakin blinked- this was not the question that he was expecting, and he frowned, trying to remember what his master had said to him all those years ago. He looked back up after a moment, and saw Yoda smiling at him. Anakin tried to not roll his eyes, but instead concentrate on what their conversation had been about.

“I remember talking to him. But I do not remember what exactly he had said to me.” Anakin said slowly, looking at Master Yoda. The jedi master tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Read Obi-Wan’s report, the council did. Heard his account of the events, we did. Want to know, I do, how you know that what you saw was real.” Yoda asked. Anakin frowned, and tried to suppress his worry. He knew it was real because he was dead. He died, in his son’s arms after throwing Sidious down that reaction shaft, in that cursed space station. But instead of becoming one with the force, he was here, talking Master Yoda about a force ghost.

“I felt it in the force.” Anakin said while maintaining eye contact with Yoda.

“Felt Qui-Gon, you did?”

“Yes.”

“Include that in his report, Obi-Wan did not.” Yoda replied. Anakin smirked. He knew now, that Obi-Wan would bend other perceptions, even lie to them, to fit a view that he was presenting. He had lied to Luke all those years, so why not lie to the council? What lies was he hiding right now? Anakin scowled. He could feel his rage, his anger, beginning to get the better of him. Had he still been Vader, he might have struck down the tree in front of him out of rage. But now, he saw that would be a waste. Instead, he opted for the jedi way- and released his emotions into the force. The feedback was different than before. Before, when he was Vader, it had been the fire that burned that kept his rage going. But now, now it was quiet.

“Seem deep in thought you do, Skywalker.” Yoda remarked. Anakin blinked and looked back at Yoda.

“Yes.”

“Remember the encounter with The Son, do you?”

“Yes”

“About your encounter, tell me, you will.” Yoda said. Anakin rolled his eyes- didn’t Obi-Wan cover that in the report?

“Vague, Obi-Wan was, in his report. Want to hear your side of the story, I do.” Yoda added on.

“Remember do you, what you were doing before The Son attacked?” Yoda asked. He thought about Luke on the death star- _his sister_ \- force he had a daughter and he didn’t even know her _name_. He thought about the call to the light, after spending all those years in the dark. He thought about how he gave it up, the idea of the empire, his own droid army, for Luke. He thought about Luke.

“No.” Anakin replied softly. Yoda frowned.

“Remember do you, how long it has been since you were assigned that mission?”

_“Your mission is to go and track down the survivors of Order 66.” The emperor commanded._

_“Do not fail me.”_

_“Yes, my master.” Vader said_

“No.” Anakin said again.

“Remember do you, how you ended up on Mortis?” Yoda asked.

“No.” Anakin repeated. Yoda huffed.

“Meditate with me, you will.” Yoda said. Anakin hesitated- he had no idea what would happen as a result. Would Yoda find out he was a sith lord? That he had slaughtered thousands of jedi, even the children? Would he find out who Sidious truly was? Anakin took a deep breath in, centering himself in the force. Neither jedi nor sith relished in their own fear, and he cast it aside into the force with his rage.

He closed his eyes.

It was dark at first. Then he heard soldiers marching, and the temple came into view. Around him, the men of the 501st marched around him and into the temple. He watched, his feet frozen as the first troopers opened fire on the temple guards, killing them all. And they kept marching. The scene changed and he was in the great hall, watching his men, kill jedi after jedi. Once the area was cleared, they kept marching. Anakin slowly followed, looking down at the corpses scattered across the ground, his scream stuck in his throat. He remembered first being here, all those years ago.

_“Do not hesitate. Show no mercy.” Sidious commanded._

_“Yes, Master.” Vader responded, bowing his head._

He heard raspy, mechanical breathing from behind him. His breathing. He turned around and saw that suit, that prison Sidious had trapped him in for _years._ As a reminder of his failure. A reminder of what he had lost.

The temperature in the hall dropped, and he felt the dark side whisper to him in his ear- calling to him as it had all those years ago. But he knew it was a lie. It was all a lie.

“Anakin Skywalker was weak.” Vader said. Anakin’s hand rested on the hilt of his blade as Vader ignited his. He hated how that voice sounded. He hated how his breathing sounded. He hated how he made that crystal in that saber bleed and scream with rage and pain. He hated what he had become. And he would destroy Vader all over again if he had to. Just as he had when Luke had asked him to.

“I destroyed him.” Vader continued. Anakin ignited his saber and swung at his own darkness.

“Saw this on Mortis, did you?” Yoda asked after a moment of silence had passed between the two of them after they had emerged from their meditation trance.

“Yes.” Anakin whispered, looking at the ground.

“Strong, the dark side was. Destroyed the jedi, this sith lord did.” Yoda said, his voice hollow. Anakin was surprised at the fear he could feel through the force, coming off the old jedi master.

“Know of this Sith, do you?” Yoda asked.

“Yes.” Anakin replied. He paused for a moment before continuing. “His name is Vader.” He whispered. Yoda frowned.

“Unusual that is. His name.” Yoda remarked. Anakin frowned- what was so weird about his former name that it made Master Yoda say something?

“Named after a defining trait, the sith are. Sidious, Tyrannous, names that have an obvious meaning, they are.”

“But what about Vader?” Anakin asked. “What’s so special about that name?”

“Means Father, it does.” Yoda answered. “A strange name for a sith that is.” He muttered.

Anakin wanted to scream. His rage was white hot, burning in his chest. His body shook with rage, his hands curled into tight fists. In that moment, all he could think about was Sidious, and how he would make him suffer the same way that he had for all those years. The man who lied to him and took everything from him. Anakin would kill him a thousand times over if he had to. But after the rage, came the sorrow.

_“Revenge is not the Jedi way.” Vader commented, looking at Ahsoka through his mask._

_“I am no jedi.” She responded and ignited her white sabers._

The darkness swirled around him in the force- he could feel it. But he knew it was a lie. He knew. He had been lied to by the dark side over and over again. First with saving his wife, and then again with bringing her back. Each time, he walked away empty handed. He closed his eyes, and reached out into the force, reaching for the light, and listened to its call. Holding on the same way Luke had, when faced with the impossible. Because he was being faced with the impossible.

_“Father, please” Luke had begged as the emperor tortured him. Vader looked at his master- the old and disfigured man that he was, and then back at his son. And he made his choice._

“Quiet you are, Skywalker.” Yoda commented. “See other things, did you, on Mortis?”

“Yes.” Anakin whispered.

“Haunted, your eyes are.” Yoda said. Anakin looked away.

“I saw… many things.” He said slowly. “That first vison was only the beginning.” He looked back at Master Yoda, who was regarding him with a new facial expression. If Anakin had known better, he would have thought it was pity.

“Meditate on that I will. Go you may.” Yoda said. Anakin got up and left without another word. He didn’t look back. He didn’t drop his shields until he entered the apartment and was met with an exasperated Ahsoka shoving food into his face.

“Master Kenobi said you hadn’t eaten all day!” She exclaimed. Anakin huffed- he really was not in the mood to deal with anyone right now and wanted to be alone. But he also couldn’t say no to that look in Ahsoka’s eyes as she waived a sandwich in front of his face. Anakin rolled his eyes and grabbed it out of her hand, and looked over at Obi-Wan, who was watching the scene unfold while drinking a cup of tea.

“Next time, don’t go almost 24 hours without a proper meal, and you won’t have to put up with this.” He said while taking another sip of his tea. Anakin took a small bite out of the sandwich and watched as Ahsoka smiled, In the past, he might have brushed past her, and ignored the offer. But as he stood there and listened to Ahsoka tell him about a new mission Master Plo had been assigned, he couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope.

Things would be different this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	6. little talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally am getting over my writer's block.

Anakin hopped out of the speeder and quickly made his way to the entrance of Padme’s apartment. He paused after entering from the veranda and looked around; his wife was nowhere to be found. Anakin frowned- maybe something happened to her? Had Sidious figured him out already? Anakin shook his head- he wouldn’t, no, he couldn’t think like that. He walked further into the apartment and brushed his fingers along the throw pillow, feeling the intricate design through the glove of his flesh hand, and feeling the presence of those who had been there before him in the force. Senator Organa, her handmaidens, Senator Mothma, and other friends of hers.

“Padme?” He called out into the empty space, he paused for a moment, listening for a response.

“Padme?” He called out again, looking around the living room.

“Anakin!” Padme exclaimed as she walked out into the living room. Instead of the elaborate dresses that she usually wore, Padme wore a lose silk nightgown, and her hair was up in a bun.

“What is on your face?” Anakin asked while frowning. Padme smiled.

“It’s a face mask! It’s supposed to help with wrinkles and fine lines.” She responded. Anakin kept frowning.

“Maybe you should wear this mask instead of me, since you frown so much.” She said while crossing her arms over her chest.

“Hey!” Anakin retorted. Padme laughed, and then quickly stopped herself.   
“Don’t make me laugh! You’ll crack the mask and then I’ll have to put it on all over again!” Anakin rolled his eyes.

“You don’t need to do anything to fix your appearance. You are beautiful no matter what you do.” He responded. Padme gave him another warm smile.

“I’ve probably had this mask on for long enough anyway. I’ll be right back.” She said as she walked away towards the bathroom. Anakin sat down on the couch, smiling at his wife’s…well, everything really. The fact that she was here, talking to him, about anything and everything. He tranced out the design of the couch cushion and noticed how Senator Organa’s presence stood out as a more recent visitor compared to others. In the past, he remembered being concerned with their past friendship. Worried that they were going to betray the republic and the chancellor. But it the chancellor who had betrayed the republic and betrayed them. He closed his eyes, thinking about that day on the Death Star. Hovering around the planet Alderaan. Holding his daughter, Senator Leia Organa back as they watched Tarkin give the order to destroy her home world. He could feel the young girl shake with rage and anger. He remembered how she resisted the mind probe- the only one who had shown such resistance that he had ever encountered. He thought about how she stood up to him, defiant and loud, when no other senator would. The righteous furry that shone in her eyes.

“Hey,” Padme said from the entranceway into the living room from the hallway. She walked towards him, and Anakin saw the light and joy in her eyes.

Eyes that looked very familiar.

Padme sat down on the couch next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. They watched as speeders passed by in the distance, and the sun began to set behind the skyscrapers.

“What’s wrong?” Anakin asked her as he looked down at her, brushing a stray curl away from her face. “You seem tense.”

“The senate has voted to give the chancellor more emergency powers, due to the war.” Padme muttered after a moment of silence. Anakin sighed- he knew exactly where that was going to lead if he didn’t intervene.

“I respect the chancellor.” She added on quickly “He is like a father to me, and I am sure you can relate as well. He has been a great mentor for me in my political career. But I believe that the war, and the emergency powers that he is being handed are- “

“Corrupting him.” Anakin finished. He felt Padme shift in his arms so that she could get a better look at his face.

“Do you think… do you think the chancellor is corrupt?” Padme asked.

“I think the republic is corrupt. It’s a broken system.” Anakin said while shrugging.

“I know you think that. That’s why I’m trying to fix it.” Padme said while rolling her eyes. “But what about the chancellor?”

_“Oh no, commander, I am a political leader, not a military one.” The emperor said as they entered the Ryloth system._

“I think he is corrupt. That he is the source of many of the problems that we are facing because of this war.” Anakin said, his voice full of venom. Padme pushed herself off of Anakin’s shoulder and looked at him.

“What?” She exclaimed. “But the chancellor is trying to stop the war!” Anakin looked at her, and her resolve faltered. The look in his eyes was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

“Palpatine is a liar.” He told her “He is a selfish man and views others as objects to be won.” He averted his gaze, and stared back out at the speeders passing by

_The boy would be his. It would all be his. He would rule the galaxy with his son at his side, and end Sidious’s grip on the galaxy._

_But the boy had refused. Falling to his death instead of taking his hand. Horrified at learning the truth. Preferring to die rather than join him._

Reflection on the memory, in the tense silence that filled the room, he thought about his first encounter with Luke, freeing as many imperial slaves as he could. Anakin clenched his jaw, trying not to react at the though of his son doing what he could not.

He was so proud. But so sad. Remorse filled his heart, at what could have been, if he had chosen to walk away.

“How could you say that about someone who you value as a father?” Padme said, looking him in the eye. Anakin turned to face her again.

“Being so close to the… chancellor has allowed me to… see things that others cannot.” Anakin said after a moment of silence.

“Well, do you think he would give up the power once the war is over?” She asked, sounding hopeful.

“No, no.” Anakin said quickly, trying to hide his rage at Sidious in front of his wife. “He will not give it up. He will find a way to hold onto it.” Padme frowned, and looked out of the window as well before responding.

“You might be right. You spend a lot of time with the chancellor and see him when others don’t. I’m not saying that he’s perfect, but he isn’t as bad as the separatists and Dooku either.” Anakin bit his lip as he tried not to laugh.

“I value democracy.” She said as they watched the speeders pass by. She laced her fingers together in her lap. “And I want to rid the republic of corruption.” A humorless laugh escaped Anakin’s lips.

“That is noble of you. And it is impossible, even for you, Angel.” He said while turning back to face her. Padme stood up from her place on the couch and looked down at Anakin. He noticed that the same fury that burned in her eyes burned in the eyes of a certain princess who he had encountered a few years ago.

“And why is that? There are good people in the galaxy, whose voices deserve to be heard!” She exclaimed.

_‘Padme would have stood with the empire.’ He told Sabe as she lowered her blaster._

_‘Are you crazy? Did you even know her?’ The former handmaiden retorted as she looked at him with disgust._

Anakin watched as Padme continued to rant about fairness and justice for all in the galaxy. The empire was anything but fair and just. It served to oppress the many and benefit the few. He served the empire faithfully for years, and all Sidious had done was lie to him and rob him. He didn’t agree with the emperor and grew to hate his former master. He had spent years searching for the truth- what really happened that night and the years afterwards. How deep the lies went during the clone wars.

“What are you thinking about, Anakin?” Padme said as she noticed her husband’s eyes seemed far away. He sighed and looked up at her.

“I think…. that everyone has good in them.” Anakin stated tentatively.

_‘There’s good in you, I can feel it.’ Luke had told him as they walked through the base on Endor._

“But that people have become complacent in the war and with the republic.” He continued. Padme frowned.

“But what about the chancellor?” She asked.

“He is as corrupt, if not more so than Dooku.” Anakin retorted.

“No! The chancellor rose to power through the proper channels.” Padme snapped back.

“Think about it.” Anakin said while standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re right.” She whispered while looking away. “Leaving the republic is not illegal. Leaving the jedi order is not illegal. And he was in control before the war began.” She added on and looked back up at him. There was another moment of silence before she smiled at him.

“You may not like politicians, but you are starting to sound like one yourself.” Anakin groaned and Padme laughed. She pulled him close to her and touched her forehead against his.

“Could it be that you have been spending too much time charming your way through the senate?” Padme whispered while grinning. “I see how Senator Chuchi’s sister looks at you.”

“It could be that I have been spending a lot of time charming a certain senator.” Anakin replied while smiling back. “Or trying to, at least.” He added on.

“Well, I must say that you are doing a fantastic job.” She whispered against his lips. He grinned and kissed her, their fears about the future melting away into the night.

Anakin’s commlink beeped and the two separated. He could feel Padme’s annoyance in the force, and he kissed the top of her head while raising his wrist up.

“Skywalker here.” He spoke into the commlink.

“Anakin, the council is requesting your presence in the briefing room.” Obi-Wan said through the speaker. He looked back at Padme, unsure of what to do.

“Go.” She said while running her fingers through his curls. “We’ll talk later. I have a few things that I want to look into.” Anakin smiled softly at her and sighed.

“I’m on my way.” He said to Obi-Wan. He dropped his arm back to his side. “Feeling inspired now, are we?” He asked her.

“Maybe a little.” Padme said while looking away.

“Don’t work too hard, Angel.” He said as he kissed the top of her head again. Padme giggled.

“Get going. The council is expecting you, Ani.” She replied. They slowly broke apart and Anakin walked back out onto the veranda and hopped into the speeder. He looked back at her and watched as the lights from the city and the apartment illuminated her, giving her figure a halo effect. She smiled at him from the doorway, and he smiled back. He started the speeder up, and pulled away from her apartment, his heart feeling lighter than it had in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the plot thickens...  
> thank you for reading!


	7. echos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> work is busy, but I am finding time to write regardless! please notice that there have been some new tags added to this story...

Anakin quickly walked into the communication room, his cloak billowing out behind him as he descended down the steps.

“Skywalker.” Windu said, looking up as Anakin approached. “We have a new mission for you.” 

“What is it?” Anakin asked, surveying the room. In a circle around a hologram, stood several members of the jedi council, looking at a map with varying looks of concern and weariness.

“The Citadel has been overrun by separatists’ forces.” Mace Windu said. Anakin frowned, trying to remember what happened during this mission. The memories were vague, foggy, long buried with the rest of who he used to be. A few faces. Several explosions.

“Governor Tarkin along with Master Piel’s forces have been overrun on the surface and are being held hostage.” Plo Koon said. _Tarkin._

Right.

Now he remembered. Well, he remembered Tarkin. At first, he remembered liking Tarkin- the emperor had favored both during the war, and Tarkin continued to be one of his favorites during the empire. So much so that Sidious demanded that he not kill Tarkin. And Tarkin only answered to the emperor. Anakin grit his teeth and exhaled through his nose- trying to suppress the disdain that he how felt towards someone that was at one point an ally. The natural reaction- which felt so unnatural after so many years caused Anakin to cough as he started at the reaction from his own body.

As Mace Windu continued to brief them on the mission Obi-Wan glanced over at his former apprentice. The lighting from the hologram highlighted the dark shadows under his eyes, and he could feel the anger that rolled off of him in waves at the mention of Governor Tarkin. Obi-Wan stroked his beard. Judging from Anakin’s reaction, his first thought was that there was some sort of bad blood between him and the governor. But Obi-Wan frowned as he realized he could not recall Anakin and Tarkin coming into contact with each other before. He turned his attention back towards Windu.

“Are we sure that this is the best idea? This mission sounds incredibly risky.” He asked.

“Do you have any other suggestions, Master Kenobi?” He asked. Obi-Wan shook his head.

“No, but there is a chance that this mission is doomed from the start. What if we don’t wake up after being frozen?” Obi-Wan asked the room. There were mummers coming from the jedi as they all discussed the possibility of losing two of their best fighters.

“It is a risk that we will have to take.” Anakin said, his chin held high as he looked around the room. The whispers subsided after Anakin spoke, and Obi-Wan found himself wondering, and not for the first time it seemed, where he had learned that skill.

“Skywalker is right.” Plo Koon said. “We cannot allow the citadel to fall into the hands of the separatists.”

“I agree.” Said Mace Windu. “We must act swiftly. The citadel is a prison designed for jedi who have lost their way. If the separatists are able to get it to become operational again… who knows what could happen.” Anakin looked around the room, full of masters. Presences that shone bright and pure in the force. He looked down at his body- the young flesh and bone of his 21-year-old self and wondered what would happen if they knew the truth. If they knew about the blood on his hands. He looked at them now and curled each one into a fist. The left one feeling foreign- how long was it since he had a functioning left arm? But the right one felt the same as always. More familiar to him than his own flesh and blood.

He was a stranger in his own body.

Anakin looked back up and saw Obi-Wan take another glance in his direction. His master tried to give him a reassuring smile. Anakin could not return it. He watched as Obi-Wan turned back to face the rest of the jedi in the room.

“Anakin and I will take a small task force comprised of men from the 212th and the 501st.” He said, “In order to remain undetected, the ship we will fly in will be piloted by droids.” The other jedi nodded.

“May the force be with you then.” Mace Windu said. “You are dismissed.” Anakin and Obi-Wan nodded their heads before leaving the room. Now that the sun had set on Coruscant, the windows of the temple we filled with the lights of passing speeders and skyscrapers. Anakin walked next to Obi-Wan, two steps behind his former master, and looked out at the passing speeders in the night.

_‘Knowledge is power, Lord Vader.’ The emperor told him as they walked down a hallway of the imperial palace, Vader two steps behind his master._

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan said as he put a hand on his shoulder. Anakin flinched at the contact, and Obi-Wan quickly let go, a worried expression forming on his face.

“I was just… lost in thought.” Anakin said slowly. He looked Obi-Wan in the eye. “…sorry.” He muttered quietly.

“Not to worry,” Obi-Wan replied, his features softening. “I shouldn’t have startled you.” Anakin nodded, and they continued walking through the halls.

“What could you possibly be thinking about?” Obi-Wan said after a few moments of silence. He saw Anakin tense again.

“It is not important.” Anakin replied coolly as he continued to look out towards the skyline as they walked. Obi-Wan tried to not have his worry show on his face. Or in the force.

“What are you going to tell Ahsoka?” He asked, trying to change the subject. Anakin didn’t look back at him, but after another moment of silence, he responded.

“She will be coming with us. If I tried to stop her, she would just sneak along and join us regardless.” Obi-Wan scoffed.

“Well, she is as good at following orders as you are.” He remarked. Anakin looked away from the skyline, ready to retort when a sudden wave of dizziness overcame him, and he swayed on the spot.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan exclaimed as he grabbed Anakin’s arm while he swayed. This time, there was no flinch, and Anakin brought a hand up to his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Are you quite alright?” Obi-Wan asked, still holding onto his arm. “Let’s head back to our quarters.” He says before Anakin can respond. Anakin pulled his arm out of Obi-Wan’s grasp but didn’t say anything on their entire walk back. He tried to run through possibilities for why he would have suddenly become so dizzy, when the door opened to their quarters and Obi-Wan ushered him inside. Anakin sank into a chair at their small table as another wave of dizziness overcame him, followed by a wave of nausea. He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself in the force, but he could not ignore that his body was not reacting well to something…

“Anakin, when was the last time you ate anything?” Obi-Wan asked as he looked at his former apprentice, who was now slumped over the table, face scrunched up in discomfort. A moment of silence passed before Anakin responded.

“This morning.” He replied softly.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, exasperated. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. In the past, he never had trouble with getting Anakin to eat. As a young boy, Anakin insisted on never wasting food or water. And as Anakin grew into his teenage years, Obi-Wan could recall several instances where he was amazed that Anakin could eat that much and stay as thin as he was. But ever since they had returned from Mortis, things had changed.

“Did you not feel hungry?” Obi-Wan asked tentatively, knowing that this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened since returning to the temple

“I did not.” Anakin replied, still resting his head on the table. Obi-Wan placed a ration bar on the table with a glass of water by his head, and Anakin lifted it, looking at the bar and the water. Moments later, Ahsoka walked in, holding a data pad, and looking mildly annoyed.

“Masters!” She exclaimed. “I’m starving. What are we having for dinner?” She asked, looking at Anakin and then Obi-Wan, who crossed his arms and stared at Anakin. Anakin took a sip of water from the glass that was on the table.

“Why don’t we go to Dex’s?” Obi-Wan suggested while looking back at Ahsoka.

“Yes!” Ahsoka exclaimed as she walked away towards her quarters. She reappeared moments later in the kitchen. 

“Ready to go?” She asked. Obi-Wan nodded and Anakin slowly got up from the chair. The three of them made their way down towards the hanger while Ahsoka informed them of the latest padawan drama- Deepa Bilaba’s padawan and a few others had apparently tried to pull a prank on a group of senior padawans and it was not well received.

“Well, that would explain why Caleb has been sulking more than usual.” Obi-Wan muttered while stroking his bead. Anakin rolled his eyes. They walked through the hangar and hopped into their usual speeder. Anakin started the ignition and gripped the yoke.

“No fancy tricks this time, please Anakin.” Obi-Wan remarked as he strapped himself in. “Spare your old master the horror.” From behind them, he heard Ahsoka snort.

“You will be fine.” Anakin said as he rolled his eyes again and steered the speeder out of the hangar.

* * *

After placing their orders, Obi-Wan looked away from the busy dinner and over towards Anakin and Ahsoka. They were both looking out at the skyline, but Ahsoka turned around and smiled at Obi-Wan when she had noticed that he was staring at her.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said and cleared his throat. Anakin looked away from the lights of the city, his expression blank. He frowned for a moment, before raising his eyebrows.

“We have been given a new mission.” He said while turning to facing Ahsoka.

“Really? Where are we going?” Ahsoka asked, eager as always. As Anakin began to recount the events of their council meeting, Obi-Wan noticed that Ahsoka’s enthusiasm was starting to wear off onto Anakin. As they continued to speak, Obi-Wan watched as his former apprentice became more animated, and even smiled.

“Wow!” Said Ahsoka after Anakin had finished. “So, who will we be taking? I’m sure Rex and Cody will want to come along, but what about the other men?” She asked. Anakin opened his mouth to respond when a chill shot down his spine. Obi-Wan watched as the small smile on Anakin’s face was replaced with a look of horror, the temperature of the air in the diner dropping several degrees.

_Echo._

_The clones._

_The chips._

_The order_.

He remembered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	8. the night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is time... for angst

Anakin stood on the small balcony of their apartment. The cool night air of Coruscant blew past him, and he felt his skin begin to prickle as he got goosebumps. His eyes focused on nothing in particular- he was trying to get in tune with his body again. He could feel his hair brushing against his neck in the wind. He could feel the way it hit the exposed skin on his neck and sent a shiver down his spine. The way his nose seemed to get colder first compared to the rest of his body. He heard the door open behind him.

“We need to talk.” Obi-Wan said. Anakin tightened his grip on the railing, willing himself to gather his thoughts before he turned to face Obi-Wan. The silence between them was heavy, dense, like a heavy weight had just been placed on their shoulders.

“Anakin, your behavior since returning from Mortis, has been… concerning.” Obi-Wan began tentatively. Anakin’s grip tightened on the railing, his eyes were now focused on a green light, far off in the distance.

“We are worried about you. You’ve been so closed off, so distant from us. And you have changed your habits. Suddenly, you are now forgetting to eat- you’re so quiet at times that it’s unnerving, and not to mention the way you acted at Dex’s when you were trying to tell Ahsoka about the mission.” Obi-Wan continued, his voice growing louder as he kept talking.

“Anakin, if you aren’t well enough to take on this mission, just say so.” Obi-Wan pleaded. Anakin still looked out towards the horizon, at the green light in the distance, trying not to let his tears fall.

“Because it feels like I’m talking to someone else.” Obi-Wan added on softly, his voice full of sorrow. There was another moment of silence. The wind howled and cried as it blew through the spires of the temple. Speeders passed by, but their movement felt so small compared to what was in front of them now. There was nothing else for Obi-Wan to focus on, other than the man he thought he knew that was standing in front of him. Anakin slowly turned around to face Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was surprised when he saw Anakin’s face. He was expecting anger, guilt, or even fear.

Not remorse.

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan whispered. “What happened on Mortis? What happened when The Son took you?” Anakin pursed his lips and looked away from Obi-Wan. But Obi-Wan knew his apprentice well and knew that Anakin only acted like this when he was trying not to cry.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said softly, trying through the force to reach out- to show that he cared about what was going on and that he was worried about him.

“I… I don’t know.” Anakin whispered, his voice cracking. “This is all wrong, so, so, _wrong_.” Anakin said while shaking his head. “This isn’t how things are supposed to be.”

“What do you mean?” Obi-Wan asked, trying to hide his own fear. Anakin took a deep breath before speaking again. Not only to steady himself, but he still hadn’t adjusted to speaking without the suit forcing air into his lungs. Some habits were harder to break than others.

“I died.” Anakin said softly. He blinked and saw flashes of the last moments of his life, on the floor of the death star, begging Luke to take his mask off. Telling his son to let him go.

“What, no, that’s… that’s not possible. You’re right here.” Obi-Wan replied. Anakin shook his head.

“I _felt_ it, Obi-Wan. I felt myself take my last breath. I _felt_ my heart and lungs give out.” Anakin responded, his voice growing louder.

“How.” Obi-Wan whispered in shock. “How did you die?” He asked, looking Anakin in the eye. Anakin looked away.

“Sidious killed me.” He whispered, his voice blending in with the crying of the wind as it blew past them.

“That’s not all, is it?” Obi-Wan asked as he studied Anakin’s face. Anakin shook his head and looked Obi-Wan in the eye.

“The sith win the war. They kill all of the jedi.”

“What- no, Anakin, that’s… that’s impossible!” Obi-Wan exclaims, fear beginning to grip his heart. “There are hundreds of thousands of jedi, how can two sith wipe all of us out?” A single tear slid down Anakin’s face. It felt cold against his skin, contrasting the heat coming from his face.

“All of the jedi were killed off.” Anakin replied softly. “Survivors were hunted down across the galaxy.”

“What… what happened to me?” Obi-Wan asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the reply. Anakin pursed his lips again before speaking.

“The sith killed you as well.” Anakin said his voice shaking as more tears silently fell. Obi-Wan shook his head, trying, searching for something to say- something to do- to prevent this vision from taking place.

“No, Anakin, we can fix this. We can stop Sidious from rising to power.” But Obi-Wan watched as Anakin shook his head, more tears falling from his eyes, and the hopelessness, the sorrow, that came off him in the force felt like he was drowning in a sea of ghosts.

“It is too late. Sidious has already gotten to me.” Anakin said, his voice level and detached, as if he was speaking from somewhere far, far away.

“What?!” Obi-Wan exclaimed “Anakin, what are you _talking_ about?” Obi-Wan demanded. Anakin smiled, but there was no humor behind his eyes.

“No one saw it coming. Sidious had planned everything from the beginning.” Anakin began. He chuckled, but Obi-Wan so no humor in his eyes. Anakin closed them and felt the salt from his tears sting his eyes. “The sith already control everything.” He whispered into the night. Obi-Wan’s stomach filled with a sense of dread as he remembered what Dooku had told him on Geonosis. Something that he- and the rest of the council had dismissed as being impossible.

“So Dooku… during the first battle of Geonosis…” Obi-Wan began.

“He was telling the truth. The chancellor is Darth Sidious.” Anakin confirmed. Obi-Wan felt as though the ground had been pulled from beneath his feet. He stepped forward and gripped the railing of the balcony, his head between his arms as his knuckles turned white underneath his gloves.

“And the war?” Obi-Wan pressed, although he thought he knew the answer. But he wasn’t sure if he was ready to hear it.

“It is all a _lie_.” Anakin spat out. “Sidious lied to all of us.”

 _'But, didn't you just lie to Obi-Wan?'_ Anakin shook his head, as if that would get rid of his thought when something caught his eye.

Anakin suddenly looked up and watched as Ahsoka entered the kitchen to grab something to drink. Obi-Wan watched Anakin, realizing that he had forgotten to ask a very important question.

“What happens to Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan asks, his voice rough.

“I have no idea.” Anakin whispered, his voice getting lost in the wind of the night as Ahsoka walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	9. a view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope that you are ready for some more feelings.

Anakin sat on the edge of his bed, gripping the sheets. After talking to Obi-Wan he had quickly excused himself to his quarters- despite his master’s protests and locked the door behind him. Usually, if it were serious enough, Obi-Wan would come and knock. He would come sit on Anakin’s bed next to him, and they would talk about- whatever there was to talk about. Try to make things better, despite the cloud that hung over them.

But now, it was quiet.

And Anakin sat alone in his quarters, looking out at the green light through his window. The more he tried to focus on it, the more it reminded him of a lightsaber, lighting up the dark around it. Despite the pollution and commotion, he could still see it clearly, the glow stark against the night.

There was a knock on the door.

Ahsoka stood outside of her master’s quarters, biting her lip. She knew that if Anakin could see her, he’d nag her about that habit that she couldn’t seem to break. But she could feel the emotional turmoil coming from both him and Master Obi-Wan. And while she tried to ignore it earlier, the air was so tense in their apartment that she felt like she could barley breathe. So full of sorrow that it rivaled how it felt on the battlefield. But there was no battlefield here, just Ahsoka standing outside her master’s quarters, holding a cup of tea in each hand.

The door opened, and her master stood in front of her. Usually, when he looked like this- his hair everywhere, dark circles under his eyes, she would make a joke about how he needed to take better care of himself. But not now. She could tell that this wasn’t the same person that she had made those jokes to before they went to Mortis. Now, she stood in front of him, biting her lip as she tried to think of something to say.

“Do… you want to come in?” Anakin asked her, his voice hoarse. He stepped aside and she nodded silently before entering. Ahsoka looked around- the sight of her master’s quarters was almost as familiar as her own. A workbench full of droid parts. A desk covered with holobooks and data pads. A neatly made bed. A meditation chair by the window, silhouetted by the night lights of coruscant. She handed him the other cup and he took it. They moved to the other side of the bed, and sat in unison, watching the steam rise from their cups.

It was quiet.

Ahsoka looked up, at the view from the window, and saw a green light from one of the nearby buildings, standing out from all the others. She tilted her head to the side, and watched as it twinkled in the pollution, the color and shape reminding her of a lightsaber. She looked at Anakin, his face illuminated by the lights, his eyes focused on something far away on the horizon.

“Master,” She whispered. His eyes looked away from the horizon and at her. His gaze was haunting.

“Why… why are you letting me go on this mission?” She asked. Anakin sighed.

“Ahsoka,” He began. “I know that in the past… I was overprotective of you. But I know what you are capable of.” She smiled at him. Anakin turned to look the window once again.

“And I know that you will be able to accomplish any task that you are given. Or think your way around it.” Anakin said with a soft smile. Ahsoka followed his gaze out the window and took a sip of her drink.

It was warm.

“Besides if I didn’t let you come, I am sure you would have found a way to disobey orders.” He added on.

“Hey!” Ahsoka exclaimed. “It’s not like you wouldn’t do the same.” Anakin looked back at her, and she could have sworn she saw some of that green light in his eyes.

“I would have.” He said. “And Obi-Wan would have nagged me the same way I would have nagged you.” He ran his thumb over the rim of the cup and took a small sip of the tea. Warm and sweet, even though torgruta couldn’t taste sweet things.

“Did you put any sweetener in this?” Anakin asked her. Ahsoka shrugged.

“You always add sweetener to your tea and caf. I just figured that… you’d probably want it.” Anakin pursed his lips. And then he chuckled. And then he laughed. And Ahsoka joined him as well, relieved as the force felt like it let go of a breath that it was holding.

“Is it that good?” Ahsoka asked. Anakin raised an eyebrow.

“The tea, with the sweetener.” She clarified.

“It’s the best.” He replied. She rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

“Knock it off Skyguy, I’m not a youngling anymore.” She joked.

“Well, at least I won’t lecture you about how to make tea, or which cups are for which brews, or whatever else Obi-Wan lectures us about.” Anakin said, smiling as he remembered more and more of how particular his master was about certain things.

“You mean how Master Kenobi lectures _you_ over everything.” Ahsoka countered with. And Anakin laughed again.

“I told you, you would have never made it as his padawan.” He said after taking a sip of the tea.

“I know.” Ahsoka replied softly, turning to look back out the window.

“But you said that I might make it as yours.”

“You did more than that, Ahsoka.” Anakin said, thinking about how she had to survive on her own for years, as he hunted her down. Knowing no one, starting over, in a galaxy that hated her and all she had ever known. But she had survived and grown as a fighter. Even when the emperor continued to tighten his grip on the galaxy, surrounding it in darkness, Ahsoka with her white blades shone through, like a small beacon of hope.

“You should be proud of yourself.” Ahsoka turned back to face him.

“I am proud of you, Ahsoka.”

* * *

The day leading up to the mission was suspiciously monotone- they began their day the same as ever, although now Obi-Wan watched Anakin intently as he ate, and Ahsoka tried to brush it off, making more jokes about how Obi-Wan lectured them all the time.

Anakin was quiet.

They walked through the halls of the temple, accompanied by Master Plo, who was warning Ahsoka to be careful, Obi-Wan who was warning both of them to be careful, and Ahsoka doing her best to reassure them. But Anakin could tell when it bothered her. She would look back at him, and he could see it in her eyes. He nodded and she would smile. He believed in her.

Everything was the same as he remembered, although certain details- like how bright the temple halls were during the day, were foggy. Everything was the same, even the carbonite freezing. He walked in, and saw Rex standing there, talking to Cody. Obi-Wan nodded at them both, and Anakin walked over to stand next to Ahsoka.

“Nervous?” Anakin asked her as they watched the troops become frozen in the carbonite.

“A little.” She said while shrugging. Anakin watched as she bit her lip but couldn’t bring himself to nag her about it. A small nervous habit was the least of their problems. She stepped forward, ready to be frozen with the others.

“I’ll see you on the other side, Skyguy.” Ahsoka said as she grinned. The gas rose up, and Anakin felt her panic slightly before her mind was quiet. Two clones pushed her carbonite slab forward.

“General.” They said, gesturing to the carbonite machine. Anakin stepped forward. He looked at Obi-Wan

_‘I love you.’ The princess had said before he had Fett freeze Solo in the carbonite. He could feel her rage, her anger, her hate, through the force. But he could feel the way that she loved the man in front of them so deeply. He remembered feeling the same way. In another life._

_‘I know.’ Solo had responded before they had frozen him._

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.

“I know.” Anakin whispered, and then there was nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	10. the fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: depression and suicidal thoughts.   
> Anakin is not a reliable narrator.

Anakin placed one hand after another, his fingers curling around the edges of the cliff as he continued to climb onwards. He could feel beneath him, the heat of the lava, its glow casting shadows across everyone’s face. Anakin shook his head, trying to think about something- anything else. Anything to distract him from thinking about that day when he lost it all. So, he instead decided to occupy himself with thinking about how they got their way out of this place the first time.

Several key events stood out to him- Master Piel’s death, losing Echo, and meeting up with Tarkin. In the past, he had liked Tarkin- they were both favorites of Sidious. But now, Anakin wasn’t sure if he could resist the temptation to run his lightsaber through his body. Despite how important the intelligence was for the mission, Anakin knew that this was all being rigged by Sidious anyway, so why did it matter if Tarkin died now or later? He still ended up dead like everyone else.

A cry of terror broke Anakin’s thoughts. He quickly turned around and watched as a trooper lost their grip and began to fall towards the lava. Reaching out with his hand in a panic, he grabbed the trooper using the force and held him there for a moment, panting, feeling his heart pound through his ribcage as he recalled the horror, the pain, of burning alive. Screaming until your voice gave out. Breathing even though each breath felt like you were inhaling fire. He moved the trooper back over to the cliff and let go once he saw he had gotten his footing again. He heard a distant thank you, but it barley registered. Anakin just kept staring at the lava, even though the bright glow burned his eyes the same way it had all those years ago.

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Anakin blinked and looked away from the lava and kept climbing, his face unreadable. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka shared a quick glance and she shrugged before continuing to climb. But Obi-Wan knew there was something else going on.

His fingers curled around the edges of the cliffs; each movement rougher than the last as he tried to drown out his own screaming. As he tried to drown out the feeling of his flesh burning and rotting. Feeling his eyes burn to the point where everything looked the same. Feeling his lungs burn to the point where he could no longer use them. How he cried and screaming at Obi-Wan, watching as his face swam above him in a sea of red. How he wanted to call out and beg his master for help one last time. How he wished he could go back before everything went wrong. But now he was here and knowing what lay ahead made Anakin wonder if this was even worth the climb, the struggle at all. If it would be easier if he just let go and fell into the lava, letting himself burn like how he did all those years ago.

Screaming until you couldn’t anymore, until your lungs gave out. How his voice died out along with the rest of him on the bank of that lava river. But this time, his scream sounded different. It wasn’t his. He looked back down again and watched as another trooper fell towards the lava. He caught him at the last second- he hoped. The trooper was close to the lava, too close if anything should happen.

A plume of lava erupted, engulfing the man whole. Anakin didn’t even hear him scream.

“Be careful, men.” Obi-Wan said after a moment of silence. “We cannot afford anymore losses.” He looked at Anakin and nodded, but he watched as his apprentice continued to stare at the lava, the angle of the rocks hiding his eyes in the shadows.

“Look, Masters, we’re at the top!” Ahsoka said with one final push before pulling herself up the cliff. The others followed, and they all sat there for a moment, surveying their surroundings before trying to figure out how they were going to get past the first set of doors. Ahsoka suggested that she crawl through an air vent to open the door from the other side. She opened the door with a slight smirk, which caused Obi-Wan to roll his eyes, and they proceeded onwards.

After a while, all the walls began to blur together and look the same. In a way, it reminded Anakin of the way the walls felt on an imperial base or star destroyer. And endless gray maze that seemed to stretch on forever. Overwhelming emotions of fear, and anger from his men, or the rebels. It depended on who he was talking to that day.

While he recalled a particular case of interrogating rebels for the location of his son, suddenly Anakin was no longer on the ground and was being pulled towards the ceiling. He heard a soft, but menacing voice come through the speakers near the corners of the room. He tried to move his body around- realizing how strange it felt to have so little weight pulling him down when he realized that it wasn’t working, and whatever magnet that was being used was more powerful than the force of him twisting around.

Suddenly, arcs of electricity coursed through his body and his muscles contorted. He screamed in pain as he felt the heat run through his tissue, the current causing all his muscles to cramp. But Anakin was also dimly aware of how it seemed to hurt less this time around compared to the countless amount of times Sidious had punished him for… well almost anything it seemed.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan yelled as he watched Anakin’s body convulse and then drop to the ground. He rushed over, placing a hand on his shoulder, and then extending another to help him up. He watched as Anakin shakily regained his footing before taking a deep breath.

“I am fine. We have to keep going and find Master Piel and Tarkin before it’s too late.”

“I agree.” Obi-Wan said while stroking his beard, eying the hallway in front of them. Anakin brushed past him and continued walking down the hallway, his jaw set in what was either determination or anger. Obi-Wan couldn’t tell.

Currently, all Anakin could really think about was weighing the pros and cons of running his lightsaber through Tarkin right now or waiting until later. He knew, that Tarkin was a prized possession by Sidious. Even going so far as to demand that he spared his life when he killed other officers. And Vader had agreed because Vader obeyed his master. He held his lightsaber in his hand and ignited the blade, cutting through the blast doors that the prisoners were being kept behind. He heard Ahsoka ignite one of her own blades and begin cutting through the other half before he kicked the door down and they rushed in, destroying all of the battle droids that were present.

“General Skywalker.” Tarkin said as he approached Anakin, who had to tighten his grip on his blade to make sure that it stayed in the same spot. His eyes glanced over to Ahsoka, and he looked at her like as if she was a piece of meat. Ahsoka looked back at Tarkin like as if he was a piece of shit, which Anakin didn’t really blame her for.

“I see you brought… your apprentice with you.” He said, his eyes not leaving Ahsoka.

“Yes, I did.” Anakin muttered through gritted teeth. Tarkin looked at him, a small smirk on his face.

“Are you sure she is… capable of handling such a mission?” He asked as his eyes lazily glanced over her body again.

“Ahsoka is more than capable, Tarkin.” Anakin said, not bothering to use either of his titles. “We have to meet Obi-Wan and Master Piel at the rendezvous point immediately. Let’s go, Ahsoka.” He said as he turned his back on Tarkin and walked away. He heard Ahsoka’s footsteps fall in line with his own and heard her mutter several swears under her breath. And while he knew that Obi-Wan would kill him if he found out that Ahsoka had developed the same swearing habits he had, he couldn’t help but smile a little at hearing her call Tarkin greasier than a meal at Dex’s, and slimier than a damn Hutt.

They made their way back through the corridors, slicing and shooting their way through any and all droids that they encountered.

“Finally!” Ahsoka exclaimed as they reached the set of blast doors that lead to the outside landing platforms. The door opened, and suddenly shots were coming at them from all directions.

“Scatter!” Anakin shouted as he and his men dove in various directions, trying their best to avoid the onslaught.

“Obi-Wan, where are you?” Anakin yelled into his commlink. “We have made it to the platform, but we are surrounded!” He ducked as several shots flew past his head and hit the rock behind him. Ahead, in front of the platform, he could see a river of lava flowing, and blocking his path. He looked to his left, and saw a bridge connecting the two land masses, but it was currently overrun with droids.

“Rex, Echo!” Anakin called out. They both turned to face him.

“Sir!” They both responded.

“We have to clear that bridge. It is our only way out of here!” Anakin replied, raising his voice over the blaster fire. They both nodded.

“Men!” Rex called out. “Focus your fire on that bridge over there! That’s our ticket out of here!” Anakin smiled- maybe this time they would make it out with more casualties, but then he heard a cry of terror come from ahead.

He watched, as Tarkin was held at gunpoint, in front of the lava river. From this distance, Anakin couldn’t make out who was holding him, but he didn’t think it was a droid. He hesitated for a moment, contemplating if it would be worth it to run through the blaster fire to help Tarkin when their eyes locked, and Anakin knew that if he survived this, and told Sidious about his behavior, that it might blow his cover. He grit his teeth and began to run across the rocky terrain when suddenly he felt it.

The warmth of a life, evaporating into the cold. The feeling of someone letting ho and becoming one with the force. He staggered so slightly, amazed at how raw all of the emotions felt. There was nothing to dull the death of Master Piel, but there was a mission that he had to finish. So, he continued moving.

But it was that second hesitation that was his mistake. As Anakin approached the riverbank, saber drawn and ready to defend himself and Tarkin, the tide turned against him. Literally.

It was ironic.

Here he was, finally adjusted to having his old body back only for the fire to rip it away from him and burn the air in his lungs. Anakin collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain and fear. He would rather die than be put back in that suit. He would rather burn alive and die right here, than have to listen to the sound of his own breathing grating on his ears for the rest of his life. He would rather die than have to have his rotting flesh scrubbed off of his body.

He would rather die than go through all of this again.

He could hear yelling in the background, but it was all drowned out by his own screaming, until his voice gave out again. His vision swam, figures moving in and out, but Obi-Wan’s face stood out amongst them all, staring down at Anakin, saying things to him. But he couldn’t make any of it out.

He couldn’t tell the difference between the ground he lay on now, and the riverbank on mustafar. Were they the same? Was he just on mustafar again, doomed to repeat his mistakes and suffer for them again?

He couldn’t hear anything over the sound of his own breathing, as each breath burned but he knew he had to keep breathing the fire otherwise it would die out inside of him.

And then it was quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	11. breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to my american readers: please make sure that you are registered to vote.

Anakin gasped and chocked for air, each breath burning as he continued to breathe. His vison went in and out, and he could hear people screaming around him. But the main thing was that he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t have the mask on. He was chocking for air. He was going to die. He didn’t have the mask on.

Someone pressed an oxygen mask against his face, and he grabbed at it, gasping as the cool air rushed into his lungs. He felt hands on his arms and legs, as they lifted him up onto a stretcher- which then confirmed that he still had arms and legs. For a moment he had thought that he was always meant to burn, like how he did on mustafar, and lose it all. But he felt someone’s hand grip his own and Anakin tried his best to open his eyes to see who would hold onto someone… something like him.

“Anakin, squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” Obi-Wan said, his voice stern. Anakin squeezed back, still amazed that he didn’t lose any limbs, but that only served as a minor distraction from the immense pain he was feeling. Now that he was able to get more oxygen, he could tell that his legs were broken. And so were probably some of his ribs as well, from the force of the eruption.

“Anakin… Anakin.” Obi-Wan called out, his voice getting softer and softer each time. Anakin tried to muster the strength to squeeze his hand again, but he couldn’t. He was trying to have enough strength to keep his eyes open, but they were so heavy and the light and smoke from the planet burned. He closed them and could hear Obi-Wan yelling again.

He tried to curl his fingers, and maybe he did, he wasn’t sure. He could hear more voices, the roar of an engine, but it all sounded so far away… like it all happened a long time ago and he was just dreaming.

* * *

The glow of the hologram highlighted Obi-Wan’s cheekbones, and by contrast, showed how deep and dark the circles under his eyes were.

“What is your report, Master Kenobi?” Mace Windu asked.

“We were unable to save both Master Piel and Captain Tarkin.” Obi-Wan began.

“A regrettable loss, that is.” Yoda said, bowing his head.

“Indeed,” Mace replied. “The chancellor was close to Tarkin, and I am sure he will not be pleased about this loss.”

“Where the separatists able to get any information out of them before you arrived?” Plo Koon asked.

“No,” Obi-Wan responded. “Anakin was able to save the captain in time and prevented them from finding out about the hyperspace lanes.”

“Well, then it is not a total loss.” Plo Koon replied.

“And where is Skywalker?” Mace asked, frowning as he noticed that there were two people missing in this call.

Obi-Wan’s shoulders tensed, and he gripped the table.

“Anakin…” He began slowly, “Is in critical condition. There was an eruption while he was trying to save Captain Tarkin.”

“And where is Ahsoka?” Plo Koon asked, his voice tense.

“At Anakin’s side. She is fine, Master Plo.”

“And what about Skywalker? How critical is his condition?” Mace asked.

“We’re on our way back to the temple right now. Anakin is in a bacta tank, but we won’t be able to tell for sure until after he sees a temple healer if there’s going to be any permanent damage to his lungs and vocal cords.” Obi-Wan responded, his voice hollow.

“Very concerning, this is.” Yoda commented. “One of our best fighters, and pilots, Skywalker is.” He looked at Obi-Wan

“Proud you should be, of the boy you trained.”

“I am.” Obi-Wan whispered. A moment passed before someone spoke.

“I will go inform the chancellor about the mission. We will expect to see you back on coruscant within the next 12 hours, Obi-Wan.” Mace said before walking away. The other council members followed suit and the hologram turned off. Obi-Wan sighed, and turned away from the table, walking through the halls of the _resolute._ He passed by his quarters and Anakin’s, but stopped into his for a second, grabbing a cloak that was draped over the back of a chair and walked back out, clutching the fabric tightly in his hand.

The doors to the medical bay opened, and Obi-Wan walked through them, heading straight for the bacta tank where he knew he would find Ahsoka. Her small frame was silhouette from the light of the tank, and she sat in front of it, watching Anakin. Obi-Wan draped Anakin’s cloak over her shoulders and sat down next to her. He looked at him and cursed the war and the politics that had dragged this bright-eyed child through the hells of war. She stared at the bacta tank, but her eyes were far away and unfocused, her hand slowly coming up to grip the fabric of Anakin’s cloak.

“Don’t blame yourself for what happened.” Obi-Wan whispered. “There was nothing you could have done.”

“But master,” Ahsoka began, her voice cracking.

“No, Ahsoka.” Obi-Wan said and held his hand up. “We should be grateful that Anakin is alive and made it out in once piece.” Ahsoka shifted and was quiet.

“I guess you’re right.” She muttered.

“He will back on his feet before we know it, and cursing up a storm at his injuries, as usual.” Obi-Wan said, a small smile forming on his face.

“Yeah, wouldn’t be Master Skywalker unless there was a bunch of cursing involved. In multiple languages as well.”

“It is most impressive.” Obi-Wan muttered, stroking his beard. Ahsoka giggled, and Obi-Wan tried to remember the last time he had seen her laugh.

* * *

“Master!” Ahsoka exclaimed as she walked into Anakin’s room in the halls of healing. Anakin looked away from the window and at her, a grin spreading across his face. Obi-Wan followed, a soft smile spreading on his face at finally seeing Anakin awake and alert after spending the past 10 days in either a bacta tank or being operated on.

“Master Che said that you should try to speak as little as possible, in order to make sure your vocal cords heal correctly. But I imagine that you will struggle with that instruction more than her other ones.” Obi-Wan remarked. Anakin rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Wait, so when can you start talking again?” Ahsoka asked. Anakin shrugged.

“It depends, Snips.” He rasped, and then winced. Ahsoka’s eyes widened.

“Whoa, Master.” She said, shocked. “No offense but you sound horrible.” Anakin glared at her and Obi-Wan laughed.

“Well, the whole point is that he shouldn’t be talking until his throat heals enough.” Obi-Wan said. “But I’m sure we can think of something in the meantime for him to use.”

That something ended up being a datapad that Anakin would write on and try his best to not get too annoyed when Obi-Wan commented on his handwriting for the tenth time. But as time passed, Anakin slowly found his voice getting better, in more ways than one.

Now the question was how he was he going to use it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	12. embers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> from now on, chapters for this story will now be beta read! thank you to my beta readers it means a lot!

Obi-Wan walked through the halls of the temple with his hands behind his back. To his side, stood Anakin, who was looking out of the windows as they walked together. Neither of them said anything- not that Anakin could do much talking anyway, but Obi-Wan knew it wasn’t just that. Even with his voice still recovering, Obi-Wan knew that Anakin had no problems communicating with him and Ahsoka. He tapped into their bond- trying to see what Anakin was feeling and was met with a surprising amount of contentment. Here, Anakin seemed just fine watching as things passed him by, observing his surroundings, whereas a month ago, he would have been eager to leave the first chance he got. No, now Anakin was surprising Obi-Wan with his meditation skills, even if his patience still needed improvement. But the thing that he noticed the most was how Anakin felt different. The raw power- the bright presence that Anakin always was, now was concentrated, focused, and thoughtful.

“Kenobi, Skywalker.” Mace Windu said as he approached the two of them. The both stopped walking, and Obi-Wan waved hello.

“The chancellor would like to speak with you, Skywalker.” He informed them. Obi-Wan felt panic flare up in his chest, and he looked over at Anakin to see that he wasn’t doing much better. He could feel his panic as well through their bond- and even though they both tried to hide it, Obi-Wan was positive that Mace had seen their sudden shift in expression.

“Um, well, Anakin can’t see the chancellor right now.” Obi-Wan replied awkwardly. He looked over at Anakin and rolled his eyes.

“And why is that?” Mace Windu asked, raising an eyebrow at Anakin, who huffed.

“Anakin… can’t really talk due to his injuries from our last mission. Or well, he’s not supposed to be at least.” Obi-Wan added on quickly, feeling his face heat up.

“And what kind of injury could cause Skywalker of all people to be quiet?” Mace asked with a smirk.

“Inhaling a bunch of smoke and fire.” Anakin rasped. Mace’s eyebrows shot up in shock, and he looked at Obi-Wan who winced.

“Right… so we’ll just… be going now.” Obi-Wan said after a moment of silence. Mace nodded.

“Understandable. I wish you all the best, Skywalker.” He said as he walked off. Obi-Wan and Anakin continued to walk in silence for another moment.

“Do you think he went to go speak with the chancellor?” Obi-Wan whispered as they continued walking back to their apartment. Anakin nodded.

“Probably,” He rasped, and tried to not think about what happened the last time he saw Mace Windu at the chancellor’s office.

Obi-Wan studied Anakin’s face for a moment before speaking again.

“What happens to Master Windu?” He whispered softly. Anakin sighed, and waved the door open for their apartment.

“He dies. Sidious kills him.” He whispered back. “But I don’t…” He trailed off, his voice giving out.

“Here, I’ll make you some tea for your throat.” Obi-Wan offered as he made his way into their kitchen. Anakin watched as he opened and closed various cabinets, searching for whatever tea blend he thought would help. He walked away after a moment, wanting to clear his head of all the thoughts that were racing through his mind.

Anakin walked into his quarters and heard the door close behind him. The silence didn’t help, and now he couldn’t help but wonder if he had just made this timeline worse by revealing what was going to happen. He didn’t know if Sidious was going to kill Mace- things were already so different here. Tarkin was dead, and he was sure that it was only a matter of time before Sidious suspected that something was off with him. Anakin knew that man watched him closely, feeding him lie after lie, trying to make him the perfect sith. He sighed, and even though the motion made his throat burn, the pain grounded him.

In this timeline, he had a chance to make things better. Not that they could have gotten much worse. But Echo was still with them and Tarkin was dead. Which was better than what he remembered. But he also figured, that the more he interfered, the more things would change. He walked over to his nightstand and looked at the model ship. It was a red jedi star fighter, but Anakin thought that he owned a yellow one.

He couldn’t remember.

He set the star fighter back down, and looked around, his eyes settling on the plie of tunics on his bed that he had yet to put away. He walked over to them and picked one up. It smelled like trees, and woods and smoke. He tried to remember the last mission he was on where he would have been somewhere like that.

Somewhere like a forest.

Endor. His last mission. On Endor. To kidnap Luke and protect the death star. But when he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of the smoke and the trees, he didn’t see himself back at the shield generator, waiting for Luke.

He saw other rebels, talking to each other on a hologram. He no longer stood on the ground of the temple, instead his boots sank slightly into the soil of the moon. Tall trees rose around him, covering the light from the star and from the nearby planet.

“Well, Captain Rex will be happy to assist, you, Commander Skywalker.” A woman’s voice said. He looked at it closer. A Twi’lek woman was speaking, her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face.

“That’s right.” A familiar voice said. Anakin gasped as watched Rex step into view. He was older now and had grown a beard that was now white with age. He wore camouflage that helped him blend in with the forest, but Anakin saw the armor on his wrist.

The white and the blue. Of the men of the 501st. Rex had survived. And fought alongside Luke in the rebellion. Anakin felt tears stream down his face. He didn’t know if he should be proud of Luke for making to the rank of commander, or amazed at Rex, for surviving for so long. He couldn’t believe it. The entire time, he had been fighting against people he once had held so dear.

He would not fall for the same trick twice.

“Anakin”, Obi-Wan called and laid a hand on his shoulder. Obi-Wan felt Anakin jump at the contact and quickly turn around, his expression unreadable. He wanted to ask more, know what Anakin was thinking. What he was feeling. How he was doing. He figured, by the way his body still shook slightly, that he had some kind of vision. Obi-Wan hoped that whatever he saw, the force spared him the horror of what happened last time, but from the way Anakin bit his lip and looked away, he doubted it.

“Your tea is ready.” Is what he said. He could ask Anakin later, when he wasn’t as shaken by… whatever he had just seen. Anakin nodded at him and walked out of the room, dropping the tunic that he was holding on to his bed. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	13. sparks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are getting... interesting....   
> make sure you're registered to vote!

Padme sat at her desk, typing away- or trying to at least. She had read her speech over and over again, but something about it didn’t click. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that less and less was making sense as the days passed. Padme pushed her seat back and stood up from her desk, stretching and hearing her joints pop. She wasn’t that old- but sitting in one position for so long did make her feel older than she was. She turned to look out of the window and saw the spires of the Jedi temple in the distance, her train of thought now focused on her husband.

It wasn’t that he didn’t try to contact her- he did. All the time now that he was on Coruscant. But when Obi-Wan had told her about the extent of his injuries from their last mission, she agreed that it was better that he stay at the temple and recover. Even though she loved hearing him talk, the way the smoke and flames had ravaged his voice made her wince in sympathy. She knew that it had to hurt to talk, especially when his voice gave out after a while. She sighed- at least Anakin was getting better. As the days passed, his voice got stronger and the burns and scars continued to fade away. He even brought Ahsoka over one time with him.

But having the extra alone time gave her time with her thoughts. And right now, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Anakin had said to her about the Chancellor. How could she write this speech, if she was not sure if she supported the man that was once her mentor anymore?

“Mistress Padme,” C-3PO began, “Senator Organa is here to visit.” Padme turned around to see the protocol droid walking up towards her.

“Let him in.” She responded. The doors to her office opened, and Bail Organa walked in, his dark blue robes billowing out behind him.

“Padme.” Bail said with a slight smile. “I hope you are doing well. You looked troubled during our meeting earlier today with the relief funds committee.”

Padme sighed. “Can you be honest with me?”

“Of course.”

“What do you think about the Chancellor?” Padme asked softly, looking away.

“What do you mean?” Bail questioned. “I think… he has good intentions at heart.” Bail began tentatively.

Padme looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. “Be honest with me.” He sighed.

“I think that he <i>has</i> good intentions, but this war has dragged on for too long. The senate keeps agreeing to give Palpatine emergency powers, and I fear that if we continue down this path…” he trailed off.

“That our voices would be silenced.” Padme finished. They shared a glance.

“Do you think that?” Bail asked her. “The Chancellor has been your mentor for years, Padme.”

“I know, it’s just- it’s just that I don’t think everything is as it seems. Something else is going on here.”

“And what makes you say that?” Bail replied. Padme laced her fingers together to stop herself from playing with the sleeves of her dress.

“Is giving him all of this power worth it? We keep voting yes, but the war still drags on, with no end in sight.”

“I think, that letting democracy prevail, and not allowing one person to gain too much power is what is worth it.” Bail said with a determined expression.

“And do you think that is what the Chancellor is trying to do?” Padme asked as she turned back to look out the window, watching as the sky got darker as the sun slowly disappeared. A moment of silence passed before Bail spoke again.

“Yes.” He whispered. “Yes.” He repeated, louder. “Everything that the chancellor has done so far is perfectly legal, and that is what is so frightening about it. He can, will, and has used the war to gain more political power. He has also recently gained control over the courts as well.”

“What?” Padme exclaimed as she turned around. “What do you mean?” Bail sighed.

“He now can overrule any decision made by the Republic courts- and has upped the charges for treason against the republic, citing the war as a reason.”

“So, what happens if you commit treason?” Padme asked softly.

“Execution.”

“No, he can’t! He wouldn’t!” Padme replied, horrified. “We heard nothing about this! How could he make such a… such a bold decision without consulting the senate? How do you know about this?”

“Master Kenobi told me. The Jedi are the only independent part of the judicial system left.”

“And they are being stretched thin by the war…” Padme muttered as she sat back down at her seat. She gestured to a chair by her desk and Bail sat down as well. She looked back at the speech that she was typing and deleted it.

“What were you working on?” Bail asked.

“A speech for the Chancellor.” She spat out. “He had asked me to write a speech, in support of him gaining more emergency powers.” She sighed and placed her head in her hands.

“When did you speak to Obi-Wan?” She asked, her voice sounding far away.

“He had visited me earlier today. We were simply catching up.” He replied.

“Padme, what made you start to change your mind about the Chancellor?” He asked after a moment. Padme raised her head and looked at him. Her eye makeup was now slightly smudged, but it was late, and he was a close friend so she didn’t really care.

“I was talking to Anakin about it.” Bail raised an eyebrow.

“Skywalker? I heard that he has been recovering well from his most recent mission.” Padme nodded, and then bit her lip, thankful that she had gotten smudge-proof lipstick.

“I thought that Skywalker and the chancellor were close.” Bail said. Padme nodded.

“They are. Which is what made what he said so disturbing. He said… that the Chancellor was no better than Dooku.” She whispered.

“What?” Bail exclaimed. “No, that’s… that’s impossible.” Padme looked at him.

“Is it? Bail listen to me. I started looking through old records- and I mean  _ old _ .”

“And what about them?”

“The chancellor and Dooku used to be friends, years ago, before the war. Before I had even become queen of Naboo.”

“And we used to be friends with separatists’ leaders as well, but we are not anymore, since it is… considered treason now.” He replied.

“Yes, but something about it is just… wrong to me. The chancellor has never spoken about his past with Dooku.”

“Maybe because it would cause too much of a controversy?” He suggested.

“But then why would he make it illegal to talk to the separatists if he himself used to be friendly with them?” Padme questioned. “Something doesn’t add up. And I want to get to the bottom of it.”

“Are you suggesting treason?” Bail asked softly, raising an eyebrow.

“Something like that.” Padme whispered.

* * *

Back at the temple, Obi-Wan stood next to Anakin on their balcony.

“How was your visit with Senator Organa?” Anakin asked. Obi-Wan shrugged.

“It was fine. He and his family are well.” Obi-Wan replied, staring out at the senate building in the distance. Anakin didn’t respond, but Obi-Wan could feel his unease, and a strange sense of guilt when he mentioned Organa. But he didn’t say anything about it, and they stood there together, watching as the sun set behind the senate building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	14. the sun part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is heavy on symbolism and references  
> and we've reached the second story arc! I planned for this story to happen in three large arcs, so we are now a little over 1/3 of the way done. Well I am with writing it. If you're reading this then you've read a little over 1/3 of the story.

Anakin set the piece of the control panel down and sighed. No matter what he tired, he just couldn’t seem to get the parts to fit together for his droid. He knew that if Obi-Wan walked in, he would probably nag him for the mess that he made, but Anakin was glad to be alone for now.

It gave him time to think. He stepped away from his workbench and walked past a mirror. His own reflection startled him. No matter how hard he tried to adapt to what he now looked like, it still felt strange. Like as if he were in someone else’s body. He brought a hand up and touched a lock of hair that fell between his eyes. He studied his face- he didn’t remember it being so thin. He raised his arms, turning slightly to look more at his frame- the clothes hung off of him more loosely than they did before. But he wasn’t sure if that was because jedi robes were not exactly form fitting, or if it was because of something else. He decided not to think about it, and instead grabbed his cloak, and walked out of his quarters.

He had gotten used to- or mostly used to- the temple being full of life again. In fact, he found that he enjoyed having to dodge younglings that were chasing each other though the hallways instead of stepping over their corpses. The sun was bright as it shone through the window, but Anakin could tell that it was later in the day, and the sun was beginning to set.

“Oof!” A child exclaimed and stumbled backwards. Anakin took a few steps back as well, startled at the youngling who had just collided with his legs.

“Master Skywalker!” The young boy said as he stepped back. Oh yes, Anakin remembered his face.

He was one of the younglings that he had killed in the council chambers all of those years ago.

“I didn’t mean to run into you! I was just…” He faltered, looking at his feet. Anakin blinked, realizing that he was probably expecting to be scolded.

“It’s alright.” Anakin replied. “I’m not upset.” The child looked back up at him, his eyes bright and Anakin wondered how he could have allowed Palpatine to drive him to the point of killing someone like this.

“But you should be careful.” Anakin smiled after a moment. “I am sure that if you had bumped into Master Windu, he would lecture you.” The child blinked.

“Are you not going to lecture me?” He asked.

“I am not.” Anakin responded. He continued to smile and tried not to laugh at the confused face that the young boy was giving him.

“Well, thank you, Master Skywalker!” He said before running off. Anakin turned away and continued towards the speeder, contemplating if he should take Master Yoda up on his request to have him help teach youngling classes.

Anakin pulled out of the temple hangar and went towards the market, hoping to find some parts that would work better with his droid. His mind wandered as he drove the speeder through the airways of coruscant. The bright lights and bustle from the city all seemed to blur together, but it was a pair of pale, blue eyes that stood out. They stared at him. Like as if they could see right into his soul. He stopped at a red light and listened to their message.

“The Republic has been defeating the traitorous separatists for battle after battle. Thanks to our wonderful jedi knights and valiant clone troopers, the war will end swiftly, reuniting the galaxy once again.” Sidious said with a smile. Anakin shuddered- while they weren’t the gold and red that he was used to, he knew that Sidious was always watching.

The light turned green and he flew away, but he could feel the gaze of those eyes even as he turned away.

* * *

“Padme, I don’t think we’re going to find anything.” Bail said as he ran a hand over his face. “The Chancellor would be sure to cover up any information that would be damaging for him.” She huffed and stood up from her desk.

“I found something just now.” She said as she began to pace back and forth. “The Chancellor used to be mentored by someone named Magister Damask.”

“And why is that important?” Bail said while turning his head to the side.

“Because Damask used to be the banking clans.” Padme said slowly.

“Which have ties to the separatists.” Bail added on.

“But surely, they didn’t remain friends once the invasion of Naboo happened.” Bail said. Padme shrugged.

“I don’t know.” She replied while looking down. “He was killed shortly after Palpatine became the Chancellor.” He didn’t respond, but Padme knew that Bail was probably raising his eyebrow at her addressing the chancellor by just his last name.

“Well, the Chancellor always seems to be in favor of deregulating the banks…” Bail trailed off.

“What did Skywalker see in the chancellor that caused him to be so concerned?”

“I… I don’t know.” Padme replied. “I can ask.” She said as she pulled out her commlink from a pocket in her robes and sent a message to Anakin.

Anakin heard his commlink beep and ignored the sound. Ahsoka looked down at his wrist for a moment but then back up at him.

“Master, what should I do?” Ahsoka asked him. “I’m worried about Barris.” Anakin grimaced. He knew all too well where this was heading if he didn’t intervene soon. While he was angry at Barris for what she did to Ahsoka, he understood. He understood more than anyone else knew. How painful it was to fall from the light and destroy what you once held dear.

“I will talk to her.” Anakin said. He hesitated for a moment and then rested his hand on Ahsoka’s shoulder. “Maybe she just needs someone who… understands where she’s coming from.” He said as he walked away to head towards her quarters.

“And I don’t?” Ahsoka asked while crossing her arms over her chest. Anakin stopped and turned to face her. But he didn’t say anything.

“Enter!” Barris called out from her quarters. The door opened, and Anakin stood in the doorway.

“Master Skywalker!” Barris exclaimed while getting up from her desk. “I… how can I help you?” She asked. Anakin’s commlink beeped again, but he still continued to ignore it.

“I was wondering if you would like to go on a walk with me, towards the gardens.” Anakin said, realizing that he didn’t think this far ahead. He grimaced while Barris had her back turned to grab something. He had never been that good with dealing with other people’s emotions. But he realized that it could be yet another skill he could learn to master now that he had more time.

“Let’s go.” Barris said softly as she walked past him and out the door.

They walked in silence, and Anakin could feel Barris becoming more and more anxious as they continued to move. He knew that he had to address it at some point, but he was unsure of how to. They reached the gardens and Anakin took a deep breath, figuring that it was now or never.

“You look tired.” He remarked as he studied her face. Barris sighed and her shoulders sagged.

“Yes… well the war has been tiring on all of us.” She responded while looking away.

“Did Ahsoka ask you to speak with me?” She asked softly after a moment.

“No.” Anakin replied. “I wanted to speak to you.” She gave him a questioning look but didn’t say anything.

“I can tell that something is on your mind, Barris.” He watched as she stiffened.

“It isn’t important.” She muttered.

“You are lying.” Anakin said as he took a step further into the garden. He watched as the birds chased each other through the sky, and then turned back to face Barris, who seemed shocked at what he had just said.

“Are you coming?” He asked her. She nodded and moved to catch up with him, and they continued to walk through the garden.

“It’s just…” Barris began after a moment of silence. “How can we, as Jedi, stand to fight for this war?” She whispered, and Anakin wondered if that was because she was afraid of what others thought of what she was saying, or if she was ashamed of herself.

“I wonder the same thing.” He told her. “If the war, all of this death, is worth it.” Barris blinked.

“What?” She asked, surprised.

“But the alternative is much, much worse.” Anakin said, his tone dark. Barris flinched at the sudden change in the force.

“How? What could be worse than this?” She asked. “Everyday I see death and destruction that could have been prevented had we not gone to war!”

“And what would we have done instead? Lay down our weapons and let the sith take over the temple?” Anakin questioned. Barris faltered.

“We make a choice, as Jedi, to stay in the light. The dark is _patient_ , but it is _painful._ You chase after nothing but power.”

“But wouldn’t having enough power- absolute power- allow you to stop the war?” Barris asked.

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Anakin responded softly. He locked eyes with her, and Barris could have sworn that they were full of ghosts.

“Do you think that is worth it?” She shook her head.

“Neither do I.” His commlink beeped again and he looked down to see who had messaged him. He sighed.

“I have to go, but Barris.” He said, his tone warmer than it was before. “The thing that holds you to the light is your love for others. Your compassion.” He turned to walk away, his thoughts racing through his mind, but they always seemed to settle back on one thing.

Luke.

“You should check in with Ahsoka.” He said as he stepped out of the gardens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	15. the sun part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> having thoughts and feeling things.   
> sorry these updates have been taking longer than usual. school has been intense

“Anakin.” Padme sighed as she stood up from her couch and watched as his speeder pulled up towards the apartment. He approached her quickly, his cloak billowing in the wind.

“Padme,” He called out as he smiled. “What could be so important that you had to comm me ten times?” He asked, Smiling at her. But Padme turned away from him and waived someone forward. From behind a door frame, he saw someone step out and approach them.

“Senator Organa.” Anakin greeted, his voice level, the smile gone from his face.

“Anakin… I had been investigating the Chancellor with Bail earlier when he wanted to ask you about what you knew.” Anakin looked between the two of them. A part of him found it ironic that in a past life, he had been actively working to destroy the rebellion that they had created. Now he was helping to form it.

If it ever came to that.

“I will help you.” Anakin said, looking between the two of them. “But whatever is brought up here, stays here.” They both nodded, and Padme guided the two of them inside her apartment.

“What have you found so far?” Anakin asked as the three of them sat down on the plush couches in Padme’s living room.

“So far, we have noticed that there has been more money than we originally thought that has been allocated towards the war. Especially towards the outer rim.” Bail said. Anakin nodded.

“But… there also seems to be money that hasn’t been accounted for either.” Bail continued

“What do you mean?” Anakin questioned. Padme cleared her throat.

“With the Chancell- or Palpatine, consistently deregulating the banks, it’s become harder and harder to keep track and hold the banking clan accountable for where money is being spent.” She said.

“The Banking Clan is in league with the separatists.” Anakin replied. “I can assure you of that.”

“But the Chancellor also seems to have ties with the banking clan as well. Does he know?” Bail asked urgently, leaning forward in his seat. A tense moment passed.

“Yes.” Anakin replied softly after a moment. “He knows.”

“What! I don’t believe this.” Padme exclaimed while standing up. “He isn’t perfect, but why,  _ why _ would he help the same people who are trying to destroy the republic?” Anakin shrugged, and turned to watch the speeders pass by them. From this angle, he could no longer see the green light that had teased him earlier at the temple. 

“Wait, Padme.” Bail said, standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder. Anakin turned back towards them, watching the interaction unfold, wishing that he could touch her without the guilt of his conscience attacking him at the mere thought of it.

“It makes sense. We know that Palpatine was close to Damask.”

“Damask?” Anakin asked. He tried racking his brain for some recollection, any, of who that person was, and what that name meant. But he couldn’t think of anything.

“Magister Damask was the head of the banking clan up until the occupation of Naboo.” Padme continued.

“And he was friends with Palpatine at that time?” Anakin asked.

“And that’s what’s so strange about it. There has to be more to this Damask than we know.” Bail added on. Anakin stood up from his seat and began to pace around the room.

“Did you find anything else about him? Anything out of the ordinary?” He asked. Padme shifted her weight from one foot to another.

“Yes.” She said softly. They both turned to face her.

“Damask was friends with Dooku as well. In fact, there’s a bunch of documentation on getting the banking clan’s help so that Dooku could reclaim his title as Count and funneling money towards his home world of Sereno.” Anakin ran a hand through his hair.

“The banking clan has known ties towards the separatists. It isn’t surprising that they would have been funneling money back then either.” He looked back out at the sky, now dark since the sun had finally set.

“But I sense that something else is going on.” He turned back to face the two of them.

“Magister Damask is not who he says he is.”

Bail cleared his throat. “Or, who he said he was. He died about 10 years ago. The night before Palpatine became chancellor of the republic.” Anakin sighed.

“Perhaps, Chancellor Valorum would know something that we do not.” Anakin suggested. “How easy would it be for you to get an audience with him?” Padme shrugged.

“Fairly easy. Although, he might not have the fondest memories of me.” She replied while wincing. Anakin’s comm beeped, and he looked down at it, frowning at the message said.

“I have to leave. It’s Obi-Wan, and he says that it is urgent.” He was tempted to silence his comm, but there was something that was nagging him, pressuring him to go back to the temple and talk to Obi-Wan. He frowned, staring out at the horizon, not moving from his spot.

“Something… something is wrong with him.” Anakin said as he tried to reach his old master through their bond. He rushed towards his speeder.

“What do you mean?” Bail asked.

“Is everything alright?” Padme said.

“I will let you know as soon as I can.” Anakin replied as he began the ignition and pulled the speeder away from the apartment, racing towards the temple again.

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan said, clearly relieved as Anakin rushed into their apartment. Anakin didn’t even bother removing his cloak and instead walked towards his old master, who was standing by the balcony.

“What’s wrong?” He asked urgently.

“Maul… Maul has returned.” Obi-Wan said softly. Anakin blinked, and then remembered.

“What… what was he doing? How do you know?” Anakin pressed, trying to get whatever details he could out of Obi-Wan.

“Killing innocent people to get my attention. Claiming that their blood was on my hands.” Obi-Wan spat out.

“That sounds like something he would do.” Anakin replied. Obi-Wan blinked and looked up at him.

“Anakin… what are you talking about?” Obi-Wan asked, horrified.

“I knew that Maul survived.” He replied, his voice soft but even. “It was something that I…” He trailed off.

“You saw on Mortis?” Obi-Wan suggested, and he nodded.

“You could say that.” Obi-Wan approached him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Anakin, what else did you see on Mortis?” He asked him gently, looking him in the eye, searching for something that he wasn’t sure was there anymore.

“I saw enough.” Anakin replied while shrugging. Obi-Wan backed away, looking at him with an expression that he hadn’t seen before.

“And you wouldn’t happen to want to tell me more about it, would you?” He asked. Anakin shook his head.

“No. It’s not something that I would like to… relive.”

* * *

But his mind did not give him a choice.

The burning, the screaming, the way the fire ran up and down his skin, taking everything with it. The sound of his legs hitting the ground below him, now detached from his body.

_ ‘I hate you!’ He had screamed as the flames climbed over his body, as if he were burning in hell for his sins. _

_ ‘I loved you.’  _

Anakin woke up, gasping for air. His body covered in sweat, and his skin prickling as if the embers from Mustafar were still on him and still burning. He closed his eyes but was met with the sickening sound of his limbs hitting the ground, the red that filled his vision as his eyes burned in the heat.

He was up before he knew it, heading towards the fresher, and throwing himself in front of the toilet, throwing up the contents of his stomach into the bowl. He tried to breathe, but it was so hard, and his throat was burning like how it had been burning then. He coughed and gasped for air.

_ Where was his mask, he needed his mask. He couldn’t breathe without his mask. _ He gasped again for air, the panic settling into his throat as he retched again, unable to shake the ghost fires that ravaged his body. Unable to shake the phantom pains of his limbs as they screamed out in agony.

“Anakin!” He heard Obi-Wan say and felt someone touch his shoulder. But he couldn’t separate the way he said it now from the way he said it then. Just as he couldn’t separate the gentle touch from the fires of Mustafar.

“Don’t touch me.” He replied, his voice shaking. “Please.” He whimpered. Without the mask to force air down his lungs at a regular interval, he found it impossible to control his breathing. His stomach contracted at the thought of having the cursed thing over his face, but his lungs begged for the control. He retched again into the toilet.

“Here.” Obi-Wan said softly, Anakin looked up and saw him holding a glass of water.

“Drink it, it’ll help your stomach calm down.” Obi-Wan said, offering the glass towards him. But whatever adrenaline-fueled strength that Anakin had was now gone, replaced by the phantom pain of having his limbs cut off. He slumped to the side, unable to feel what he knew was still there. He closed his eyes, relying on the force to center himself, giving him strength once again.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan called out tentatively after a moment. Anakin opened his eyes slowly, and looked at Obi-Wan, who was not towering over him, but sitting in front of him, a worried expression on his face. He learned forward slightly, making sure to grab the glass with his right hand.

“Another nightmare?” He asked.

“What time is it?” Anakin whispered, dodging Obi-Wan’s question.

“Just past 0300.” Obi-Wan replied.

“Why are you awake?” Anakin asked, taking a tentative sip of water. Obi-Wan looked away and moved so that he was now sitting next to Anakin on the floor instead.

“Nightmare?” He whispered.

“I’ll answer you if you answer me.” Obi-Wan replied. Anakin took another larger sip of water.

“It was a nightmare.” He replied.

“Was it about Mortis?” Anakin nodded.

“Was it about Maul?” Obi-Wan nodded. And then he sighed.

“I thought… I thought he was dead. I thought I killed him.” Obi-Wan whispered.

“I know.” Anakin responded, setting the glass down on the floor. Obi-Wan looked at him, but Anakin kept staring straight ahead, his eyes seeing something that Obi-Wan wasn’t.

“You thought the same about me.” He whispered.

“What? Anakin, I couldn’t, I wouldn’t- “Obi-Wan began, but Anakin held up his hand and looked him in the eye.

“You could, and you did. And you should have killed me.” Obi-Wan backed away slowly, trying to control his fear.

“Anakin, what are you talking about? You are no Sith Lord!”

“No, but… I…” He broke off and sighed.

“Were you the Sith… the one who replaced Dooku that you were talking about?” Obi-Wan asked slowly, his voice barely audible.

“Yes.” Anakin replied. “I was. And I killed you.”

“No, I don’t believe this. You can’t, you wouldn’t!” He exclaimed.

“My name was Vader.” Anakin continued; his voice detached. “And I did.”

“No, Anakin, listen to me.” Obi-Wan said, placing his hands on Anakin’s shoulders, trying to get him to look him in the eye. “Those things haven’t happened yet. We know who Lord Sidious is. We can stop the war, stop the Sith from destroying everything.” Anakin’s eyes slowly met his, a single tear sliding down his face.

“Do you truly believe that?” He whispered. “You have no idea how powerful my master was. I  _ had  _ to obey him.” He looked away again, past Obi-Wan.

“I had to obey him.” He whispered. But now, Obi-Wan’s hands moved up and grabbed Anakin’s face, forcing him to look him in the eye.

“No, you don’t.” Obi-Wan replied, his voice firm. “You always have a choice. You can choose to be better, to do the right thing. I  _ know _ you can.” He said, his voice cracking.

“Anakin, look at me, please.” Anakin slowly looked at him again as more tears ran down his face.

“I know you can do better. You already have. You’ve told me about who Sidious really is. You know about Maul. We can stop them. And I will not let you face Sidious alone.” Anakin nodded slowly, and Obi-Wan watched as the light that he had been looking for earlier was slowly coming back. He pulled his hands away from Anakin’s face, and rested them on his lap.

“And I will not let you face Maul alone.” He replied. Anakin leaned forward, grabbing Obi-Wan’s hand with his own flesh one.

“We are in this together.” Obi-Wan said.

“Until the end.” Anakin replied.

“Until the end.” Obi-Wan repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	16. the sun part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> late chapter is late, but important for plot purposes

Anakin sighed, placing the small sheet of metal down on his desk. He had been scrubbing at it for the better part of an hour, but no matter what he did, the paint still stayed on the side. A part of him wondered what kind of paint was able to withstand all of the scrubbing that he was doing, but he was more frustrated with the fact that he hadn’t made any progress on his droid in the past hour. 

He picked the sheet of metal up again, examining it slowly. It looked and felt like normal durasteel to him, only there was a small white sun painted on one of the sides. Usually, that wouldn’t have mattered- he simply would have just turned it around and used the other side as the outer plating. But because of the way he had modified the droid on his desk, he couldn’t do that. He set the metal back on the desk, and instead opted to double check that the recording was playing correctly. 

He listened to it once, twice, three times, before turning it off and screwing the piece of metal with the white sun on the side to the frame of the droid. It was just a modified mouse droid, with a better motivator and some playback capabilities. He needed the droid to be small, inconspicuous, but also move quickly and deliver the message with purpose. 

Because he wasn’t sure how to do it himself. 

Inspecting his now complete droid one last time, he set it back down on his desk and stared at the white sun on the side. 

White sun… the phrase sounded familiar on his tongue, but he couldn’t place where, or why. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying his best to recall why it sounded so familiar, but came up with nothing. He dropped his hand back down to his side and took one last look at the small droid on his desk. Then, he turned to leave his room, walking down the hallway and towards the kitchen. 

Anakin stopped in the entryway to the kitchen. Ahead, he could see Obi-Wan sitting at their small kitchen table, his head in his hands, messing up his usually perfect hair. Anakin reached out, through their bond to see what his master was feeling. 

His shields were up. 

And perhaps, a twenty-one-year-old Anakin Skywalker would not have been able to get past a Jedi Master’s shields. But he still had all the training, all of the skill as Vader. So, he pushed harder. Not too hard- he didn’t want to hurt Obi-Wan or make him uncomfortable. Just, a nudge, to see what he was really thinking about. 

Obi-Wan sighed, and Anakin saw his thoughts. He was thinking about Maul. About Qui-Gon. He could feel the surprising amount of anger, self-loathing, fear, through their bond. 

Anakin blinked — he hadn’t been aware that Obi-Wan had struggled so much with these things. His old master had always been putting on a brave face for him, and now that it was gone, Anakin couldn’t help the crushing guilt that followed that realization. He walked into the kitchen and turned the kettle on. He opened the cabinets, searching for a tea that Obi-Wan liked. He couldn’t remember which one was his favorite, but he grabbed one that he saw him drinking the other day.

Anakin placed the cups on the table and sat down across from Obi-Wan silently. He figured that he would let him speak first. 

After a moment, Obi-Wan sat up straight, and grabbed the cup of tea off of the table. 

“How did you know that this was my new favorite?” Obi-Wan asked, taking a small sip. Anakin shrugged. 

“Lucky guess.” 

Obi-Wan huffed and smiled, but his face quickly fell. 

“Anakin, do you… did you see anything specific about Maul on Mortis?” Obi-Wan asked. 

Anakin frowned. He wasn’t sure how good his information would be at this point. According to the date that it currently was, Maul had made his first reappearance ten months earlier in this timeline than the timeline he remembered. Truthfully, he didn’t know what would be different this time, but he assumed that Maul would use the same tactics that he remembered him using. 

“I am pretty sure that either you or Ahsoka will end up killing him,” he said after a moment. 

“Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan asked. “Why Ahsoka? You — we let Ahsoka go after Maul? On her own?”

“She beat him.” Anakin said while shrugging, pride swelling in his chest. 

“Anakin, what — you know what? Never mind. I’m sure it will become more relevant at some point,” Obi-Wan said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I hope it doesn’t,” Anakin replied softly. Obi-Wan looked back up at him and they looked at each other for a moment before he spoke again. 

“It ends up helping Sidious out in the end.” 

“Dosen’t everything,” Obi-Wan replied, rolling his eyes. But before Anakin could respond, his comlink beeped. 

“Skywalker here,” he said, raising his arm up. 

“Skywalker, the Chancellor is requesting your presence,” Mace’s voice said from the comlink. He and Obi-Wan shared another look, and this time Anakin could see the fear in his eyes. 

“I’ll — I’ll be there soon.” Anakin said, and then lowered his arm again. 

“Anakin, let me go with you,” Obi-Wan pleaded. 

“No. You can’t,” Anakin replied, his voice firm but soft. “I don’t want Sidious to have any sort of leverage over me while we… talk.” 

‘You misunderstand, young Skywalker,’ Vader said as they walked through the shield generator for the second death star. 

‘I must obey my master.’

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan said after a moment. Anakin blinked and looked away. 

“Sorry. My mind was… somewhere else,” he said. Obi-Wan sighed. 

“I… I understand,” he said softly, reaching out across the table and gently squeezing Anakin’s shoulder. 

“Be careful,” Obi-Wan said. Anakin looked back at him and nodded. 

“I will.” 

“It is so good to see you again, my boy,” Sidious said as the door to his office opened and he welcomed Anakin in with open arms. 

“Likewise, your excellency,” Anakin said slowly, carefully. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake here. 

Sidious studied him and frowned. “You seem tense, Anakin. Tell me, what is on your mind?” 

‘You’re the sith lord!’ Anakin exclaimed, igniting his saber and pointing it at Sidious. The man who he thought was his friend. 

Anakin wanted to spit in his face — he never wanted to hear his master say his birth name ever again. But he held his tongue and took a deep breath. 

“The war has been hard. Our last mission did not go as planned,” Anakin replied. 

“So, I heard. Master Windu informed me that you had sustained several serious injuries.” 

“They are healing well,” Anakin replied in a monotone voice. 

“And for that, I am glad,” Sidious said and smiled, his body a shadow against the light streaming in from the window. But Anakin couldn’t look at the window for too long, not without remembering what happened on that night. So he looked away, and at the vases that he knew held Sidious’s many lightsabers. 

“Are you alright, my boy?” Sidious asked after a moment of silence. Anakin turned to face him again and nodded. 

“I am fine, your excellency,” Anakin said with a small smile. “You shouldn’t worry so much about me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	17. the sunset part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay safe and wear a mask!

“Surely you understand, why we cannot allow for this to continue.” Sidious said as he rose from his chair and walked around the side of his desk. Anakin inspected the chair, not surprised to see that it was the same one that he always remembered the emperor having.

“I do, your excellency.” Anakin said, staring at the speeders. The chancellor moved to stand in front of the window, watching the speeders pass by as well. But Anakin stayed rooted to the spot- his body unwilling to move even if he wanted it to. And he didn’t.

He always stood two steps behind Sidious.

And he couldn’t change that now.

“The fact that we have yet another enemy to consider…” Sidious trailed off. And for what seemed like the first time in a long time, Anakin agreed with him. Not because he had been beaten into submission into agreeing or frightened into agreeing. But because Maul had come back earlier than he had expected, and that certainly made things complicated.

He hadn’t even considered Maul being a threat until Obi-Wan had mentioned him. He had forgotten all about the former sith lord. Which, given what Anakin remembered, is not something that his ego would take well.

“I know.” Anakin replied, still staring at the speeders as they passed by. “It does complicate things.”

“But what could he possibly want?” Sidious asked, turning to face Anakin.

“Revenge.” Anakin replied quickly. “He wants revenge.” And Anakin knew that feeling all too well.

“Elaborate.” Sidious replied, his eyes narrowing. Anakin paused, his heart hammering in his chest.

He knew that look. Sidious always had a plan working. He was never straightforward. And Anakin couldn’t buy into that now.

Not when so much depended on this conversation.

“Obi-Wan beat Maul on Naboo, and I would suspect that as a result, Maul feels as though he has been wronged.” Anakin replied, and then tried to hide his smile at the next part.

“By both whoever his master was, and Obi-Wan.”

Sidious turned to face him, and his eyes widened slightly. The feeling of victory and euphoria in Anakin’s heart was indescribable. He finally, finally had the upper hand. Now, he was the one who knew what was going to happen before Sidious did.

This was his game now.

“And how, do you think Maul will act on these… feelings?” The chancellor asked, taking a step forward, clasping his hands behind his back.

A classic move.

Anakin shrugged. “Killing more innocents. Sending more and more… graphic holorecordings to the council in an attempt to lure Obi-Wan out.”

“Yes, that first one he sent was rather… disturbing.” Sidious said, looking down at the blood red carpet, placing a hand on his chin.

“But Master Kenobi has every intention to go after Maul, does he not?”

“He does.” Anakin confirmed. Regardless of the timeline, he knew that Obi-Wan would be the one to kill Maul. But how he would do it, Anakin was not sure of. He hadn’t even been sure of it the first time, but he knew that it had happened. And he had assumed that it had happened on Tatooine, where Obi-Wan had gone into hiding. But why, and how, he had no idea.

“And will you go with him?” The chancellor asked, his tone changing. But before Anakin could respond, the doors to his office opened, and Padme walked in.

“Senator Amidala!” The chancellor exclaimed, straightening back up. “What a lovely surprise.” He said and smiled. Padme walked forward, her blue and green dress flowing behind her as she moved forward. Her silver earrings caught the sunlight that came through the windows and reflected it back.

She was beautiful, but Anakin thought that regardless of what she was wearing.

“Your excellency.” Padme said, bowing slightly. She looked at Anakin and gave him a tiny nod. And although Anakin was force sensitive, there were times where he had no idea what was running through his wife’s head. However, she was more cunning, and better with people than he was.

He trusted her, and whatever she was going to say.

“I was speaking to former Chancellor Valorum earlier today.” She began. Anakin raised his eyebrows.

He wasn’t expecting that.

“About what?” The Chancellor asked, also clearly taken aback. Anakin did his best to hide his glee at the fact that for once, Sidious did not seem to have the upper hand anymore. He was slipping.

And it was wonderful to watch.

“I was looking into some old records.” Padme continued, looking up at Anakin before continuing. He shrugged. The Chancellor looked at them both.

“What made you speak to Chancellor Valorum?” Anakin asked, genuinely curious as to how her search for answers lead her to him. He had an idea, but he needed to keep Sidious in the dark. He could not know.

“I had been looking into old records about what happened at Naboo, during the trade federation blockade.” She said. “And I realized that since Valorum was the chancellor at the time, I needed to speak with him about it.”

“And what did he say, my dear?” Sidious asked, his voice sickeningly sweet.

“He mentioned that they had probably picked Naboo for a reason, and he also mentioned that a Magister Damask might have had something to do about it.”

“Magister Damask?” Sidious asked, his eyes going wide.

“Who’s Magister Damask?” Anakin asked, playing innocent. Padme looked back up at him, her face unreadable. He hoped that she was catching onto his act.

“Well, it figures that you wouldn’t know, as much as you claim to hate politics.” She told him with a small smile. He smiled and shrugged.

He loved her so much.

“Magister Damask was the head of the banking clan before the trade federation occupied our planet.” Padme said, gesturing towards the chancellor.

“And he was a great mentor of mine, and a friend.” Sidious said quickly, his voice fond.

“Magister Damask is why I am the man I am today. He helped mentor me when I was young and foolish, showing me how to use democracy as a way to help others who were less fortunate than I was.” Sidious said, placing a hand over his chest.

That answered the last question that Anakin had.

He had always wondered who Sidious’s master was. Not the man that Plagues was, but who he was as a disguise. And now, he knew.

_‘How do you know the ways of the force’ Anakin demanded to know_

_‘My mentor taught me.’ Sidious said, a small smile on his face. ‘He taught me everything about the force, including the nature of the dark side.’_

“His death was… rather unfortunate, and I’m sure you can see why it had affected me so deeply.” Sidious continued. “When he died shortly after the battle of Naboo had been won, I had thought that it had surely been done by one of his enemies. Someone that wanted the trade federation to succeed, and were upset at his close ties with me, and the fact that I was the senator at the time.”

“That makes sense.” Anakin replied. He placed his hands behind his back and clenched them so tightly that for a moment he worried that he might have broken something with his prosthetic. 

“I am sorry for your loss, chancellor.” He said softly.

“As am I.” Padme said, inclining her head slightly.

“Thank you both.” Sidious said, looking at the two of them. “Your condolences mean a lot to me, especially considering how close you two are to my heart.”

Anakin wanted to throw up when he heard that. Or run his lightsaber through Sidious. Or let Padme shoot him while he held him there with the force. All of these ideas grew more and more appealing as they continued to stand there.

“Although, I am not the only young man that Magister Damask had taken under his wing.” Sidious said, walking towards the two of them. Circling them as they stood still, unmoving on the blood red carpet.

“Surely you remember your friend Rush Clovis, my dear?” Sidious asked Padme as he stood by her side.

And Anakin caught the small smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another plot twist?? from me???


	18. the sunset part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the semester is over!! let's celebrate with an update!

“How was the meeting?” Obi-Wan asked as Anakin walked back into their apartment. He didn’t hear a response right away but heard the rustling sound of Anakin taking his cloak and boots off. Obi-Wan looked up from the mug of tea that he was stirring and saw Anakin standing in the doorway of their kitchen, frowning deeply.

“Not that well, I take it?” Obi-Wan asked, reaching up to grab another mug out of a cabinet.

“Sidious has laid out some kind of trap.” Anakin replied, walking into the kitchen.

“What kind?” Obi-Wan asked, trying to stop his voice from shaking. “Aside from the one we already know about.”

Anakin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Something with the banking clan.” He muttered.

Obi-Wan passed him the mug and looked at him. “I thought he already had them in his pocket?”

“He does.” Anakin confirmed, grabbing the tea. “But there’s something different about this. This isn’t about getting money for the war. It’s more political than that.” 

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “And since when were you a fan of politics?” He asked before taking a sip of his tea.

Anakin smiled slightly and rolled his eyes. “I’m not.”

“Although I’ve heard that you’ve been speaking to Senator Organa recently.” Obi-Wan pointed out. He nodded.

“It would look suspicious if a Jedi suddenly started taking extensive interest in the inner workings of the senate and chancellor.” Anakin replied and shrugged.

“Besides, why would I torture myself with politics when I can just ask Senator Organa and Senator Amidala instead?” Anakin asked. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“Because you know as well as I do that politics are important.” Obi-Wan replied.

“Isn’t the complacency of the republic’s citizens how we ended up here in the first place?” Obi-Wan asked. He waited for Anakin to respond, but then frowned after a moment, when he realized that Anakin had that far away look in his eyes once again.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan whispered after a moment, wanting to reach out but hesitating.

“What- what was the republic like before Sidious became chancellor?” Anakin asked, looking away. Obi-Wan blinked, and Anakin looked back up at him.

“Before the sith controlled everything?” He asked, his voice small. Obi-Wan sighed- it has been so long. That it seemed like a lifetime ago. Before the dark times. When Qui-Gon was still alive. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“It was peaceful.” Obi-Wan began softly, “There wasn’t any talk of war, or a separatist movement, or the fear that the sith had returned.” He laughed softly.

“There was time for children to be padawans, and not knighted far too soon.” Anakin frowned.

“Not that you aren’t capable.” Obi-Wan added on quickly. “But there was no need to have someone as young as you are severing in the army. Because there was no army. We didn’t even consider that something like this would have happened.”

“And then the trade federation enacted their blockade on Naboo.” Anakin said after a moment of silence. Obi-Wan nodded.

“In a way, that was the beginning of the end. The sith had revealed that they were alive the entire time. There was a new army that we hadn’t even heard about.” Obi-Wan sighed and he and Anakin looked at each other, a mix of emotions swirling through their bond. The most prevalent one however, was the mutual sorrow. The confusion at wondering how things got this bad. Anakin knew some of the answers, but not all. He didn’t know how the sith got control in the first place.

“What was Chancellor Valorum like?” Anakin asked. Obi-Wan shrugged.

“To be honest, I don’t remember that much.” He replied. “He was just like any other politician- and before the battle of Naboo, the only other incident that happened before his term was when two Jedi bodies were left at his doorstep.”

“Did you ever learn anything about who did it?” Anakin asked and took another sip.

“No- we thought that it was the result of negotiations that had failed to be fruitful, but now that I am looking back on it, they were probably killed by Sidious.”

Anakin sighed. “Probably.” They shared another look.

“Did you get any leads on Maul?” Anakin asked. Now it was Obi-Wan’s turn to close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose.

“From what we can tell, he’s terrorizing pirates our of their money. What he intends to do with it though, I have no idea.”

“His end goal is to get revenge on you.” Anakin replied. “And then Sidious after that.”

“How reassuring.” Obi-Wan responded dryly.

Anakin shrugged. “Just being honest.” Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

“I have a council meeting later to discuss what we’ve found so far.” Obi-Wan said after a moment. He sighed.

“But I haven’t said anything to them about Sidious.” He added on softly.

“You can’t.” Anakin replied quickly, and with such urgency that it startled Obi-Wan.

“What happens if we do?” He asked, the fear beginning to encircle his heart.

“Four of the council members move to go and arrest him.” Anakin began softly. “He kills all of them.” Anakin looked away.

“And then sends the clones to invade the temple.” He whispered.

“No- that’s- they wouldn’t!” Obi-Wan exclaimed.

“They don’t have control over their actions.” Anakin replied softly but firmly. “They’re essentially a slave army, and when Sidious wants to, and he will eventually, he can gain full control over all of their actions.” Obi-Wan took a step back, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

“All of them?” He whispered.

“All of them.” Anakin replied somberly. He was startled at Obi-Wan’s reaction- not that Obi-Wan didn’t care about the clones this much, but that this time, something seemed different. Personal. As if there was an attachment involved. He wanted to ask more, but when he was placed in the same situation with Padme, didn’t he respond the same way? The soul crushing fear, the panic, the sorrow. Only, Obi-Wan seemed to be dealing with it much better than he had at that time.

Maybe it was because Obi-Wan was a better Jedi than he could ever be. Not that Anakin agreed with everything the Jedi did- but he did know that learning to let go was the thing that doomed him the first time, and also what had saved him. It was the Jedi that had told him over and over to not let his emotions rule him. And it was the sith that had told him to let them rule over him. He looked up at Obi-Wan but heard the words, the whispers of an old sith lord- the one that had tormented him after his mask had been given to Vader as a gift from Sidious.

It had only been the two of them in the library of what was once the Jedi temple. And he was curious about the mask. Sidious let him have it- only for the mask to torment him later about how if he wasn’t such a failure, his wife would be alive with him still. If he hadn’t let his emotions rule him, he wouldn’t have been trapped in that suit, in that torture device.

A comlink beeping shook them out of his thoughts. Anakin and Obi-Wan both looked at each other again, before Obi-Wan looked away and down at his wrist.

“I have to go.” He stated quickly, placing his mug in the sink. “This meeting might take a while, so don’t wait for me.” He said before rushing out of the kitchen and grabbing his cloak and boots. Anakin watched him go silently, before placing his mug in the sink as well and turning to head towards his room.

* * *

The small droid with the white sun sat on his desk, but instead of reaching for that, he reached over and grabbed his datapad. He opened the calendar, noting the date, and noting the events that had happened. He then opened another calendar- with the same date but different events on it.

This was the calendar that he remembered. This was the order of events that he remembered. And as he continued to compare the two, he noticed that the events were slowly drifting apart. At first it was small things, such as when a certain show came on the Holonet. And then it grew to be larger things such as battles and treaties, and now Maul coming back. They seemed to be happening sooner, and if that meant anything, then it meant that Anakin had less time than they originally thought they would have.

He set the datapad back down on the desk and looked at the droid again. The light coming in from his bedroom window was green- probably from some skyscraper across the street. It hit the sun on the side of the droid and reflected the color back at him. Anakin turned to look out of the window at the source of the light.

There, was that same light that he had started at all of those nights ago on the balcony. It shined through the haze and fog of the city, like a guiding beacon.

The shade of green was familiar as well. Very familiar…

_It was a green blade that had cut off his right hand for the second time. It was a green blade that had met his red one in front of the emperor’s throne. It was the same color as Luke’s blade. Luke’s blade, whose design was so similar to Obi-Wan’s._

_“That name no longer has any meaning for me.” He had told Luke as they walked through the base. But Luke didn’t believe him._

He wondered, if somewhere, Luke had seen what had happened to him. What he ended up becoming. He hoped he was happy- wherever he was. He hoped that wherever he was, his sister was with him, and they were proud of what their father had decided to do. The man he had decided to try and become.

He hoped that maybe this time, he and Padme would get to raise them instead.

He would leave the order to do it- as soon as Sidious was dead, he would leave the order. Maybe in the past, he would desire to keep going to war. But not now. Now, it seemed like all he could remember was war. He was ready for something else. And the Jedi forbade attachments, even though it was his attachment to his son that had saved him in the end. Anakin sighed, and closed his eyes.

Maybe the Jedi weren’t right about everything.

He opened his eyes again and looked at the green light.

But they were certainly better than the sith. A speeder with red and orange lights passed by in front of him, blocking the green light for a moment.

Anything was better than becoming Vader again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	19. the sunset part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots of foreshadowing here. also this chapter is almost double my usual length for an update. Yay!

“Anakin?” A voice said into the comlink. “Are you still awake?”

Anakin lay there, unmoving in his bed. It was late- and Obi-Wan had told him not to wait for him to come back. But, like most nights, he again struggled to fall asleep, his mind playing the scenes from his past life over and over in his head.

However, he had tried his best. He even remembered to eat before going to sleep and tried not to spend too much time watching as the water from the shower ran over his body or thinking about how intense the flavor of his toothpaste was.

Had it always been that strong?

He had changed into his sleepwear and gone to bed- in his quarters at the temple now as Padme was out on a mission of her own. And he laid there. He wasn’t sure how long he was there- checking the clock on nights like these always made it even harder for him to fall asleep.

“Anakin?” The voice said again. He looked over at the comlink, which was now set on his nightstand. He could not answer- and he was sure that Obi-Wan would understand. He had told Anakin not to wait up for him. But Anakin was awake anyway.

He grabbed the comlink off of the nightstand and held it up to his face. 

“I’m awake.” He replied, running a hand over his face. He was tired, but now that Obi-Wan had gotten his attention, he was sure that there was no way he was going to fall asleep any time soon now.

“The council would like to speak to you.” Obi-Wan said. Anakin dropped his arm away from his face and looked at the time.

It was almost one in the morning. He sighed.

“I’ll be there soon.” He said before tossing the comlink back onto the nightstand and swinging his legs over the bed. Without the warmth from the blanket, a chill ran up his spine, and he felt the hairs on his legs begin to stand up.

He couldn’t remember the term for when this happened, but he could remember a distant memory of his mom telling him a little rhyme about it.

* * *

“You look exhausted, Skywalker.” Mace noted as Anakin walked into the room. He bit his tongue, wanting to retort that the Jedi master didn’t look any better. In fact, everyone in the council room looked weary, exhausted, and worn.

Anakin narrowed his eyes. “It is after one in the morning.” He replied.

“Fair enough.” Mace said while shrugging. “But the war demands our attention once again.”

“The separatist invasion has reached a critical stage on the planet Umbara.” Plo pointed out. “We will need to send more support over to defend the republic’s hold on the system.”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan began. “You and I will head to Umbara with the 501st and 212th to assist in both space and ground assaults. We cannot allow for the separatist to gain any more ground.”

Anakin blinked. “When are we leaving?” He asked, turning to face Obi-Wan.

“In about eleven hours or so.” Obi-Wan replied. Anakin’s eyebrows shot up.

“Which is all the more reason for us to adjourn this meeting, and for you two to get as much rest as possible.” Mace pointed out. But Anakin could tell that neither he nor Obi-Wan would be getting that much, if any sleep at all that night.

The journey back to their quarters was quiet. It was Obi-Wan clearing his throat that shook Anakin out of his thoughts.

“It’s been a few months since we were last on a mission like this.” He said softly as they walked down a hallway.

“It has.” Anakin responded, assuming that Obi-Wan was talking about the citadel mission and not something that happened before he woke up in his old body.

“And while I do enjoy the peace and quiet of the temple.” Obi-Wan continued with a slight smile. “It will be nice to see our men again, don’t you think?” He asked Anakin, looking up at him. His eyes were surprisingly bright, especially considering the time of night that it was. But Anakin figured that Obi-Wan wasn’t thinking so much about his men in general, as opposed to a spefifc person.

He raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose so.” Truthfully, Anakin was also eager to see his men, but for entirely different reasons. He most of all however, wanted to see Rex out of everyone. Knowing that Rex was there, on Endor with Luke… it hurt, but it was also strangely satisfying to know that Rex was still faithful to the same ideas the whole time.

A sad smile crossed his face, as he pictured Rex telling Luke about their adventures during the clone wars. And that smile turned into a frown when he realized that in return, Luke had probably revealed who he was to Rex. That thought was accompanied by a sinking feeling in his stomach, one so intense that he wasn’t sure if it was just the memory that was causing it.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. Anakin jumped at the sudden contact and looked at Obi-Wan.

“I-“Anakin began. “I have a bad feeling about this mission.” He replied softly. He could hardly remember the beginning of the Umbara mission, but he did remember that it ended in an absolute disaster.

And that if his men hadn’t killed Krell, then he would have ran him through with his saber and without a second thought.

“Care to elaborate?” Obi-Wan asked, his voice echoing across the hall.

Anakin shrugged. “I’m not sure… Something feels off.” He said, which was true. That sinking feeling was still there, and while he was sure that this mission wouldn’t end the same way that it had in his previous life, the force was practically screaming a warning at him.

It was still probably going to end badly. He just had to figure out how.

“Do you feel it?” He asked Obi-Wan after a moment of silence. They stopped walking, and Anakin started at him, waiting for his reaction.

“I do.” He replied quietly. “But I don’t know why.”

“Neither do I.” Anakin whispered. They began to walk again, their footsteps echoing around them. It was just the two of them now, and now, Anakin walked next to, instead of two steps behind Obi-Wan.

Soon, they reached their quarters, and Obi-Wan waved the door open. Silently, the two of them made their way to their rooms.

“Get some rest, alright?” Obi-Wan told him while standing in the doorway to his own bedroom.

Anakin nodded. “I will try.” He sighed. He watched Obi-Wan open his mouth to say something, probably something about how there is no ‘try’. But then he closed his mouth again and nodded back at Anakin.

“Goodnight.” He said softly, and the door slid shut. Anakin turned to walk into his own room but didn’t change back into his sleepwear. Instead, he sat down at his desk and picked up the now complete droid that he had been working on.

He played the message back that he had programmed for it to say one last time. Then he placed the droid in his backpack and placed his backpack by the door.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Anakin didn’t think that he slept more than a few hours at most. And when he walked into the kitchen, he saw Obi-Wan already there, drinking a cup of tea.

The sun was just starting to rise over the skyscrapers of Coruscant, and both of them hesitated for a moment, not wanting to be too loud and wake Ahsoka before they needed to. So instead, they both sat there in silence, Anakin drinking a cup of caf while Obi-Wan drank a cup of tea.

“Did you put any sweetener into that?” Obi-Wan asked Anakin as they watched the sunrise.

“No, why?” Anakin replied, looking down at his drink. Obi-Wan shuddered.

“I have no idea how you are able to drink that stuff even when you do add a bunch of sugar, never mind without.”

Anakin shrugged. Truthfully, he liked the bitter and earthy taste. It was a weird reminder for him that all his senses were working at full capacity once again.

“It’s not the best caf I’ve ever had, but it is better than anything that we can get on the cruiser.” Anakin replied.

“I would hardly consider the tea and caf on the cruiser tea and caf.” Obi-Wan said while rolling his eyes. Anakin chuckled slightly and took another sip of his drink.

The silence was nice.

But it didn’t last long. Soon, Anakin was waking Ahsoka up while Obi-Wan was running through a checklist of things to make sure were done before they left. Watering all of the plants. Making sure all of the dishes were washed. Double checking to make sure everyone packed enough clothes. Anakin telling him that he didn’t need to bring that many cloaks. Ahsoka agreeing with Anakin. Getting into contact with Rex and Cody and asking them when they would be arriving at the hangar.

The door to their quarters slid shut behind them. Anakin adjusted the backpack straps and looked over at Ahsoka, who was brushing off crumbs from breakfast off of her cloak.

“Ready to go?” Obi-Wan asked the two of them.

“As ready as ever.” Ahsoka replied. Anakin smiled, and the three of them made their way down towards the hangar.

* * *

The journey to Umbara was mostly uneventful. Anakin spent a good amount of his free time training with Ahsoka, Rex, Obi-Wan, and Cody. He and Obi-Wan were often on the bridge during different shifts, and in fact, Anakin had noticed that Obi-Wan’s schedule seemed to coincide with Cody’s very frequently.

Not that his didn’t usually match with Rex’s or Ahsoka’s. He tried not to think that much of it.

But something was off, and Anakin was determined to find out what it was. He had remembered to grab his datapad, and compare the dates from the current one, to when the Umbara mission had happened last time.

Again, the difference was about nine months. Anakin sighed and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what was so significant about a nine-month difference. He was sure that it wasn’t just a random difference that the force had picked out. There had to be some other meaning.

But he didn’t know what.

“Master, let me go down and help with the ground assault!” Ahsoka pleaded with him when they entered the orbit of the planet.

“No.” Anakin stated firmly. “It’s too dangerous, and you can do more than enough good up here in your starfighter.” Ahsoka huffed and looked at Obi-Wan, hoping that he would overrule Anakin’s decision.

“I agree.” Obi-Wan said grimly. “This mission is going to be especially risky Ahsoka. We will need you up here leading the fighter squadrons.” Ahsoka huffed again.

“We can always compare how many droids we took out after Obi-Wan and I get back.” Anakin suggested to her. Her composure relaxed slightly, and she grinned, fangs and all.

“You’re on, Skyguy.” She replied while crossing her arms over her chest.

Ahsoka had gone with them, to see them off as they headed down towards the surface of the planet. Anakin didn’t miss the way her posture changed as she waved goodbye to them as well, as if she could also sense that something was wrong.

Most of the gunships had survived the journey down towards the surface, and soon enough, Anakin was helping his men and the droids they brought to construct their additional barracks. The native Umbarans who were supporting the republic had given them the supplies that they could, in addition to the room that they had. And when that was all said and done, Anakin sat on his bunk, holding his backpack in his arms.

He opened it. The droid was at the top, the white sun facing up towards him. Anakin looked around the barracks. He was the only one there.

He picked the droid up out of his bag and set it down on the floor. It began to move around, detecting different things about its surroundings. The white sun shone brightly, reflecting the harsh lights from above. He watched as it moved around the barracks, bumping into various bedframes.

And then, Anakin left, walking down the hall and waiting.

* * *

“Oh, come on Rex.” Fives said as they made their way back to the barracks. “I’m sure Echo would love it if you told him that story!”

Rex groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fives, I’m telling you for the last time, I don’t want to hear Echo tease me about something I did when I was a shiny.”

“Yeah, well, what did the general think?” Fives asked as he waved the door open.

“Actually,” Rex replied while shrugging. “He was Commander Skywalker then.”

“Commander Skywalker?” Fives repeated. “What was he like as a commander?” He asked as they made their way further into the barracks. But before Rex could answer, they both had drawn their blasters, eyes sharp as they tracked something moving through the barracks.

“Set your blaster to stun.” Rex said softly. “It might just be a womprat or something.”

“Right.” Fives replied. But they both lowered their blasters when it came out from underneath a bedframe.

“A droid?” Rex asked.

“What’s with that funny marking on its side?’ Fives questioned.

**_“I am WS-02 and I have a message for the clone troopers of the republic.”_ **

Rex and Fives exchanged glances.

**_“There are inhibitor chips in your head. These inhibitor chips were placed there by the Kaminoans under the orders of Darth Sidious.”_ **

“Sounds like a separatist droid to me.” Rex said while raising his blaster.

“No, wait!” Fives said. “Let’s see what it has to say.”

**_“Should the right words be spoken, all clone troopers will lose all sense of their individuality and be forced to follow orders. These chips will override any decisions that you will make on your own. Making you a slave to whoever is in command of the army.”_ **

“Alright, that’s enough.” Rex said as he raised his blaster again.

**_“To remove these chips, you will need to perform a deep brain scan, and have the chip surgically removed.”_ **

“What happens if we don’t remove these chips?” Fives asked, looking at Rex.

**_“Failure to remove the chips will lead to the downfall of the republic.”_ **

**_“I am WS-02 and I have a message for the clone troopers of the republic.”_ **

Rex and Fives stood there, rooted to the ground as they listened to the droid play its message again. Once it was done, they looked at each other.

“Should we tell the general?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	20. The Twilight part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are starting to come together...

Rex walked into the cafeteria with Fives at his side. They scanned the room, looking amongst all of the faces of their brothers. In here, the generals stood out clearly, between their different faces and different clothes.

Fives sighed. “I don’t see him.”

“Maybe we should look for General Kenobi?” Rex suggested. “They might be together.” Rex watched as Cody walked over towards a table and sat down. He walked forward.

“Rex, wait!” Fives exclaimed, rushing after him.

“Rex, Fives.” Cody said as they sat down across from him at the table. He grabbed his cup and began to take a sip of his drink.

“Cody, have you seen either of the generals anywhere?” Rex asked.

Cody choked slightly, lowering the cup while coughing. “No, I haven’t. Why?”

Rex and Fives looked at each other, and then back at Cody.

“We’re looking for General Skywalker and figured that since you spend a lot of time with General Kenobi, you’d be able to point us in the right direction.” Fives said.

“I saw General Kenobi about an hour ago, but Skywalker wasn’t with him.” Cody said, swirling his cup around. Rex sighed.

“Well, there are only so many places he could be.” Fives noted. “If he’s not with General Kenobi, he’s probably either in a briefing room talking to Commander Tano, or he’s in the hangar.”

“He might be in the barracks?” Cody suggested. But both Rex and Fives shook their heads.

“General Skywalker doesn’t really sleep that much.” Rex replied sheepishly.

“That can’t be good for him.” Cody deadpanned.

“It probably isn’t.” Fives responded. “I also can’t remember the last time we saw him sit down and eat a meal.”

“Then why did you all come in here to look for him?” Cody asked.

“We figured that he might be in here eating for once.” Rex replied and shrugged. “Everyone has to eat at some point.”

Cody facepalmed. “It sounds like he might be in the medbay if what you’re saying is true.”

Rex and Fives looked at each other and shrugged. “He’s kinda always been like that.” Rex replied.

“Well, that explains- never mind.” Cody said, shaking his head.

“Why don’t you two check the hangar? Or a briefing room?” Cody suggested. “I know that he and General Kenobi were planning to speak to Commander Tano later today.”

“Wait, how do you know that?” Rex asked. Cody shrugged.

“General Kenobi told me.” He replied, looking down at his plate.

“General Skywalker didn’t mention anything to me about the commander.” Rex muttered.

“That’s not the point.” Fives interjected. “Why don’t we try looking in the briefing room?” He asked, standing up to leave.

“Thanks for your help, Cody.” Rex said following Fives out.

They walked towards the doors, but stepped back once they opened.

“General Kenobi!” Rex exclaimed.

“Hello Rex, Fives.” Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. He peered past them, his eyes locking with someone else before looking back at the two of them.

“Is there something I can help you with?” He asked.

“Have you seen General Skywalker?” Rex asked. Obi-Wan stroked his beard, putting on his classic thinking face.

“We just finished speaking to Ahsoka about some battleplans.” Obi-Wan replied. “So, I would assume that he is either still in the briefing room or has gone to the hangar. I offered for him to join me in here, but…” Obi-Wan trailed off and sighed.

“He can be like that sometimes.” Rex added on softly. Obi-Wan smiled at the two of them.

“Well, don’t let me keep you.” He said as he walked past them and over to Cody, whose face lit up as Obi-Wan sat down across from him.

“So, the briefing room then?” Fives asked.

“Yeah.” Rex replied, turning back around.

“Yeah.”

* * *

“So, what you’re telling me is that Magister Damask also took in and mentored Clovis from a young age?” Anakin asked, rubbing a hand over his face.

“That’s right.” Padme replied and sighed. “And not only that, but he also practically adopted Clovis too.” She added on.

“Really?” Anakin asked, setting his hand down on the holotable.

“Really.” Padme said, and then shifted her weight again.

“And he tried to kiss me again.”

Anakin straightened up. “Again?” He asked. “What happened?”

She bit her lip before responding. “I told him no, he didn’t listen. So, I broke his nose.”

Anakin burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. He was glad that she had stood up for herself, but also glad that now Clovis had a broken nose. He deserved it. 

“Well, good for you.” Anakin replied and smiled. “Although I don’t know how you’re going to be able to get any more information out of him now.”

Padme shrugged. “I don’t think I need anything else from him. We know that Damask funneled money into Clovis and Dooku to form their separatist ties- Sereno is considered the leader of the separatist alliance in terms of star systems.”

“And that he mentored the Chancellor as well.” Anakin added on.

“Exactly. And the money that Damask funneled into Clovis went to the trade federations, and to Sereno. That’s probably why the last time we met him; it was on Cato Nemoidia.”

Anakin vaguely remembered the mission, the parts that came back the quickest were watching Padme’s body give out due to being poisoned.

“And I had no intentions of repeating that again.” She added on with a slight laugh. 

“Oh, there’s one more thing”. Padme continued. “Clovis mentioned knowing Dooku from a young age as well and admiring him.”

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, that isn’t suspicious at all.”

Padme rolled her eyes. “Anakin.” But before she could say anything else the doors opened behind him, and he turned to look at who it was.

“Oh!” Rex exclaimed, seeing who Anakin was talking to. “We can come back at a later time, General.”

“Senator.” Rex and Fives said, bowing their heads. Anakin turned to face Padme again.

“No, it’s fine Captain.” Padme replied. “We can finish our conversation later, Anakin.” She said with a smile before ending the call. Anakin turned to face them again.

“General, we have something serious to tell you.” Rex began. Anakin frowned.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Sir, we ran into a droid in the barracks, telling us about…” Rex began but trailed off.

“About?” Anakin asked, pressing for more information.

“About control chips in our heads.” Fives finished.

“But it isn’t true, right?” Rex asked.

“Did anyone else see this droid? Hear this message?” He asked them.

Fives shook his head. “No, sir.”

“Did the droid tell you anything else about finding them?” Anakin replied.

“It said that if we got our brains scanned, we should be able to find the chip.” Fives replied.

Anakin shrugged. “Well, it cannot hurt to check.”

“Sir?” Rex asked. “What if this is some kind of prank, or something the separatists are doing to tear us apart from the inside?”

“And what if it is?” Anakin replied. “We will only know if we go and look for ourselves.” He brushed past the two of them and began to walk out of the briefing room.

“Are you coming?” He asked, stopping in the doorway to look back at the two of them.

Rex and Fives looked at each other before following him down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come talk to me on [tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sonderwalker)


	21. the twilight part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the formatting might be messed up for this, so please let me know!

“Kix, do you have a minute?” Anakin asked as they walked into the medcenter of the base. 

“Is something wrong, general?” Kix asked, looking over from where he was working. 

“Not exactly,” Rex began. 

“We just want you to help us look at something.” Fives added on. 

“Look at what?’ Kix asked, looking between the three of them. 

“We found a droid with a strange message in the barracks earlier today.” Rex explained. 

“Something about control chips in our heads.” 

“Whose heads?” Kix asked and frowned. 

“All of the clones.” Fives added on after a moment. 

“What do you mean, all of us?” Kix repeated. 

“General, do you know anything about this?” He asked, looking at Anakin. 

“I am here with Rex and Fives to investigate.” Anakin replied. 

“Well, what kind of chip are we looking for?” Kix asked. 

“I’m not sure.” Fives said. 

“So, it would probably be best if we checked for any possibility.” Anakin added on. 

“But, sir, this has to just be some kind of prank.” Rex replied, looking at Anakin. 

“And if it isn’t?” Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I agree with the general- it’s probably better to just check it out.” Kix said. 

“Why don’t you go first, Rex?” He suggested. 

“Why me?” Rex asked, his eyes widening. 

“Well, we’d probably have to give fives a buzzcut in order to do all of these scans.” Kix explained. 

“And your hair is already short.” Fives pointed out. 

“Well Rex,” Anakin begin. “We don’t have all day.” 

Rex groaned. 

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Rex said as he walked over to Kix. The four of them followed the medic into another smaller room where there was a scanner set up, and several monitors spread out across the room. 

“You just have to lay down here, Rex, and I’ll get everything set up for you.” Kix said, gesturing to a flat surface. 

“Uh, are we sure that this is necessary?” Rex asked as he handed Fives his helmet and tentatively laid down on the metal stretcher. 

“It won’t hurt.” Anakin replied, looking at Kix, who started the machine. 

“Have fun!” Fives said with a smirk. The low humming of the machine filled the room as Rex lay there, and Kix frowned as he studied the scans. 

“I don’t see anything here, general.” Kix said while frowning. Anakin frowned as well, as fear began to wind its way around his heart. Could the chips not be there? Was that something else that had also changed in this timeline? 

No, Sidious’s plan wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t for those chips. He knew they were there. 

Anakin closed his eyes and sunk into the force. Often, it felt overwhelming to him when he was younger, but now, it was the only thing that was consistent. It flowed around him, whispering things that he couldn’t make out. He knew those chips were there. He could feel it, almost see it. 

Anakin raised his hand up towards the machine, towards Rex. There was sudden beeping noise. 

“Sir!” Kix exclaimed. “There’s something here!” 

Fives looked away from Rex and up at the screen as well. There, they saw what seemed to be a small organic chip in Rex’s brain, and the machine had found it. 

“The droid was telling the truth.” Fives whispered, horrified. 

“What now?” Kix asked, looking at Anakin. 

“We take it out.” Anakin replied simply. 

“I’d like to be knocked out first!” Rex said from the bed. 

“We knock Rex out, and then take out the chip.” Fives added on. 

“But, what about the rest of the men?” Kix asked. 

“I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to suddenly go around and tell everyone that they have chips in their brain that can control us at a few choice words.” Fives said. 

“Probably not.” Anakin replied. “I can’t imagine that going over well with the rest of the men.” 

“Well, Sir,” Fives began. “It’s not going over well with me right now either.” 

“The chips were probably placed there during out development.” Kix suggested. 

“You mean by the Kaminoans?” Rex asked as he sat up. 

“But why?” Fives asked. 

“Well,” Anakin began. “I don’t know that much behind the creation of the clone army, but…” He trailed off, unsure if he would be revealing too much information or not. 

“But it makes sense. Having an army that you have complete control over makes sense from a politician’s point of view.” 

“But we’re human!” Fives exclaimed. 

“I know.” Anakin replied. “You are human.” 

Anakin’s comlink beeped and he cursed as he looked down at it. 

“Obi-Wan wanted for Rex and me to meet him and Cody to discuss our first offensive attack.” He explained. 

“So, I’m not getting the chip removed then?” Rex asked as he swung his legs over the side of the metal cot. 

“Fives can go first, after he gets a haircut.” Kix said with a smirk. 

“Well, you two have fun.” Rex said as he stood and took his helmet back from Fives.

“Fun?” Fives retorted. 

“Getting your head cut open sounds like lots of fun.” Anakin replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“Thanks, general.” He replied. 

“Well, I’ll be using lasers to do it, and you won’t feel anything at all.” Kix said with a shrug. 

“Although you might wake up with a bit of a headache.” He added on. 

Fives rolled his eyes. “Great.” 

* * *

Before them was a map of the surface of Umbara, the parts of the planet that they were aiming to take back in red. 

“As you can see here, there is an intense separatist’s offensive happening in this quadrant, but over here, there seems to be a smaller defense than other parts of their life.” Cody explained.

“That looks like a trap.” Anakin said while frowning. He was pretty sure it was a trap but wasn’t sure if that was by Sidious’s design or by Dooku’s. 

“Yes well, we don’t seem to have any other options at the moment.” Obi-Wan said while stroking his beard. Anakin knew he was right, and he knew that this had probably been set up that way to cause this. 

“So, when do we head out?” Rex asked. 

“It would be best for us to wait until the planet’s night cycle ended.” Obi-Wan suggested. 

“It’s already really dark during the day, but at night you can hardly see anything at all.” Cody added on. 

“Which would make it easier for droids to see us, but harder for us to see the droids.” Anakin said.

“Exactly.” Obi-Wan nodded. “Sunrise, or what passes as a sunrise here, is in about seven hours. I suggest that we all get some rest before we meet back up and begin to head out.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come talk to me on [tumblr!](https://sonderwalker.tumblr.com/)


	22. the twilight part III

“Ugh, I can’t see anything!” Rex exclaimed as they made their way through the rocks. The thing that was guiding him the most was the strong glow of Anakin’s blade, a bright blue surrounded by darkness.

“We’re almost there.” Anakin replied, lifting his blade even higher.

“How do you think the general is able to figure out where we are so well?” Fives asked from Rex’s side.

“He’s a Jedi, that’s how.” Rex replied.

“How’s your head?” He asked in a softer tone after a moment of silence passed between them.

“I feel the same,” Fives said and shrugged. “I don’t think we should tell the general that anything is wrong with getting them removed.”

“Well, why don’t we wait and see if you suddenly change your mind.” Rex replied.

“Very funny, Rex.”

Suddenly blasterfire began to rain down in what seemed like multiple directions.

“Looks like we spring the trap!” Anakin exclaimed as he and Rex hopped behind… something.

He couldn’t really make out what it was.

“Now what?” Rex asked.

“Well, hopefully this means that Obi-Wan and the 212th won’t have trouble getting through, and we can distract the droids here. Follow me.” Anakin stood back up, deflecting blaster bolts, and Rex stood behind him, firing back into the dark.

Now that the droids were closer, dropping down from above, he was able to make better shots. He and Anakin moved like the team that they were- blocking and firing, slowly advancing forward as they took down more and more droids. And while Rex couldn’t see that far ahead, he followed the movements of the blade that Anakin held, and the movements of the shadows around them.

“We’ve got them on the run!” Anakin exclaimed, and the men rushed forward, firing at where the droids were running off too.

Adrenaline coursed through Rex’s veins as they ran down a slope, rocks tumbling beneath his feet as they continued to chase down the fleeing droid army. Around him, droid parts were scattered along the ground.

“Is that it?” Fives asked.

“Probably not, I’m sure they are just regrouping for now.” Anakin replied. They stood there in silence, listening to the footsteps of the men around them as the rest of the battalion moved in.

The clearing they were in now was well lit in comparison to what they were moving through earlier. Now, Rex could make out shades of blue and purple in the sky, and strange coral like structures in the distance. He hadn’t gotten a lot of time to read about the planet before they got here, but he assumed that they were some kind of flora.

“Anakin, come in.” Obi-Wan’s voice said from his wrist.

“I’m here.” Anakin replied as he deactivated his lightsaber.

“Master Krell will be arriving at your location shortly.” Rex watched as Anakin lowered his wrist from his face, his posture changing.

“Master Krell?” He repeated, and Rex heard how his tone changed, from relief at their mission, to barley repressed anger.

“Yes, you should see his gunship shortly.” Obi-Wan replied, and Rex looked up, watching as the lights from a gunship in the distance grew larger, and the sound of the engine grew louder.

“Looks like that’s General Krell.” Rex pointed out as they watched the gunship land. The lights on the front of the ship illuminated the ground before it, revealing a deep purple soil, and smaller bushes of blue and red that littered the ground.

Purple dust was thrown up into the air as the ship hit the ground, and they watched as the doors slid open.

“Looks like it.” Anakin spat out.

Rex looked over at Fives, who looked back at him. He didn’t need to see the expression on his brother’s face to know that something was up with the new general.

“Skywalker,” Krell said as he walked out of the gunship and approached them.

“The Chancellor is requesting your presence back on Coruscant, effective immediately.”

“The Chancellor?” Anakin repeated, unfazed by the way that Krell seemed to tower over him, as if he were trying to intimidate him slightly.

“He told me himself.” Krell replied with a smile.

“You should be honored, that someone as young as yourself has already gained such… positive attention.”

But Anakin didn’t respond, and Rex watched instead as he set his jaw, his posture unwavering even as Krell took another step forward.

“And who is this?” He asked as he looked away from Anakin and at Rex.

“This is Captain Rex, my first in command.” Anakin explained, not moving to the side to let Krell get any closer.

“You won’t meet a better Captain, nor a better battalion.” Anakin said, and Krell leaned over to the side, surveying the men in front of him.

“Your _clone_ battalion is one of the best in the army, and I am sure that your men are good soldiers.” He looked back at Anakin, who still hadn’t moved from his spot.

“As much as I would like to stay and chat, the Chancellor has requested your presence, immediately. The gunship is waiting to take you back to the cruiser.” Krell stepped aside, and at first, no one moved.

Then Anakin walked forward towards the gunship and stepped inside. But before the doors closed, he looked back at Rex and said something.

But Rex didn’t hear him.

* * *

“Now what?” Fives asked as they returned to their barracks.   
  
“I don’t know- I think we should talk to Kix first.” Rex said in a hushed tone.   
  
“We don’t want this information to get out, it could cause a huge uproar, and it might all be for nothing.”   
  
“But General Skywalker said we should go ahead and remove them!” Fives pointed out.   
  
“What are you guys talking about?” Echo asked as he approached the two of them, removing his helmet.   
  
Fives and Rex removed theirs as well, blinking at the sudden change in light now that they were inside of the barracks.   
  
“Well?” Echo asked as he looked between Rex and Fives, who were looking at each other.   
  
“We should talk to Kix first.” Fives said, looking at Echo.   
  
“About what?” He asked as he frowned. “Are you two okay?”   
  
“We’re fine, Echo.” Rex replied quickly.   
  
“There’s just… something going on.” Rex said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.   
  
“Well, what’s going on?” He asked, looking at Fives who groaned and facepalmed.   
  
“Let’s just go talk to Kix, come on.” He said as he began to walk further down the hall. 

“What do you mean the general’s gone?” Kix asked as he furrowed his brow and crossed his arms over his chest.

“The Chancellor requested that he be sent back to Coruscant, immediately.” Rex explained as he set his helmet down on a nearby table.

“And he went?” Kix asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He wasn’t really given much of a choice.” Fives replied while shrugging.

“So… now what?” Kix asked, looking between Fives and Rex.

“Can one of you _please_ explain to me what is going on?” Echo asked, clearly frustrated with the lack of information.

Rex sighed. “The other day, there was a droid in the barracks, that told us that all of the clones have control chips in their brains.”

“Rex.” Echo deadpanned. “That’s ridiculous. We aren’t droids.”

“It would be, if it wasn’t true.” Kix muttered.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Echo muttered as Kix pulled up an image of a brain scan.

“Here’s Fives’s brain,” Kix began, and then tapped the screen.

“And here’s where the chip was.”

“You took it out?” Echo asked, shocked at the information.

“Yeah, didn’t you notice my new haircut?” Fives asked with a smile.

“I thought you were just going for a change of pace.” Echo replied, blinking several times.

“Regardless,” Rex interjected. “General Skywalker seemed pretty insistent on having us remove and investigate these chips. And he’s gone now.”

“Well… why don’t we ask General Krell?” Echo asked.

“No- General Skywalker wanted to keep this under wraps. And I saw how they looked at each other on the battlefield.” Rex quickly responded.

“What do you mean?” Echo asked.

“They don’t get along.” Fives replied.

“I thought all of the Jedi got along with each other.” Echo muttered.

“Well, looks like you thought wrong.” Kix said.

“It’ll be tricky, but I’m sure we could continue to investigate on our own and report our findings to the general when we get back.” He continued and crossed his arms over his chest.

“We could disguise removing the chips as regular check-ups, to avoid suspicion.” He suggested to the three of them.

“That would involve informing the rest of the medics.” Rex pointed out.

“I don’t think we have any other options, Rex.” Fives muttered.

“Does getting the chip out hurt?” Echo asked, looking at the bandage on Fives’s head.

“Nope, you’re knocked out the entire time.” Kix replied.

“Didn’t feel a thing, brother.” Fives said as he rested a hand on Echo’s shoulder.

“So, would you like to go next, Rex?” Kix asked with a grin.

“Let’s just get this over with.” Rex muttered as he laid down and Kix injected something cold into his neck, causing everything to fade to black.


	23. the night part I

Anakin frowned as he stood in the hangar of the ship. Around him, smaller fighter ships were landing and docking, but he was waiting, searching for one person in particular.

Two, now that he thought about it. Obi-Wan should have come back with him, but he was still on the surface of Umbara…

Anakin’s eyes widened at the realization, but he saw Ahsoka’s ship coming in from above, so he held off from sprinting towards the nearest ship and getting in it. His heart still, plummeted into his stomach, his left hand growing cold and clammy despite being inside of a glove.

“Master?” She asked as she climbed down out of the ship, R2 ejecting himself and rolling up to her side.

“Why are you back here early?”

“Apparently the Chancellor wants to speak to me,” Anakin replied dryly, and Ahsoka smirked.

“Well, you look excited.”

Anakin didn’t smile, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

“Where’s Master Kenobi?” She asked as she looked around, noticing that Anakin was one of the few people in the hangar.

“He’s still on the surface,” Anakin muttered as he looked away, trying to think of how to get him back up here.

Trying to stop Krell.

“Master?” Ahsoka asked after a moment and Anakin looked back up at her.

“Sorry, Ahsoka, did you say something?” He asked and she rolled her eyes again.

“I asked you if you were gonna stand here all day or not,” Ahsoka replied.

“No… no, I’m not,” Anakin said as he brushed past her and headed over towards where the _Twilight_ was docked.

“Where are you going?” Ahsoka called out after him.

“Back down to the surface!” Anakin shouted as he opened the door and lowered the landing pad for the twilight.

He looked back at Ahsoka.

“Are you coming?”

She grinned and ran after him.

“So, why are you going back to the surface instead of back to Coruscant?” Ahsoka asked as she began the landing sequence.

“It’s a feeling… something’s not right, Snips,” Anakin said softly as they began to descend into the darkness of the planet.

“Like what?”

“Imagine if you knew that something was wrong, but you didn’t know what made it that way,” Anakin explained.

“And you want to figure out why?” Ahsoka asked as they turned on more lights inside of the ship.

“I would,” Anakin replied, watching as the lights that the ship had gave way to the dark.

* * *

The landing was seamless, despite the worry that seemed to be rolling off of Anakin in waves. Ahsoka watched as he sat in the pilot’s seat of the ship, staring out into space before getting up and exiting without saying anything to her.

It was his silence that let her know that something was seriously wrong.

“Where’s everyone else?” Ahsoka asked, her voice echoing around the empty hangar.

“I don’t know,” Anakin muttered quickly making his way through and entering the rest of the compound.

Now that it was empty, the white and blue lights only made the place look even more sterile than it had before. It reminded him of Kamino, but there was a chill in the air here that ran up his spine and made his skin crawl. Their footsteps were the only other noise around them, echoing off of the walls and reminding them of how alone they were.

A chill in the air that was trying to wrap its way around his heart again, asking if he remembered who it was.

But there was no way he would have forgotten what the darkside felt like. And it was everywhere here.

Then, they heard footsteps running down the hallway towards them.

Anakin and Ahsoka quickly turned to see Fives who was staring at them with wild eyes that were full of fear.

“You better come quick, it’s the General.”

Anakin and Ahsoka looked at each other before running after him back the way that he came.

“Where is everyone else?” Anakin asked as they sprinted through the corridors, not seeing any more clones.

“General Krell has sent everyone on a suicide mission,” Fives began and then his pace slowed down.

“We were shooting at our own men, our own brothers!” His voice cracked and he stopped, turning to face them with lost eyes.

“He had us go against the 212th, thinking that they were droids!” Fives yelled.

“What?” Ahsoka asked, her eyes wide.

“Why would he-“

“Where is Krell?” Anakin asked, a scowl on his face.

“With the other men, General he- he’s ordered for me to be executed for treason, by a firing squad.” Fives said, looking away from the two of them at the floor.

“What?!” Anakin and Ahsoka exclaimed in unison.

“Where is Rex? And Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked, and Fives shook his head.

“Rex is with General Krell, and we lost contact with the 212th after…” Fives replied, looking back up with a different look in his eyes.

“Master, this is _bad_ ,” Ahsoka said.

“But why would Master Krell do something like this?”

“Because he’s working for Dooku.” Anakin replied before he could stop himself.

Fives and Ahsoka stared at him in horror, and Anakin stared back, his jaw set, and his eyes determined.

“I have an idea,” Anakin began.

“We need to get into contact with the 212th. I don’t think their silence is on purpose, I think Krell has sabotaged something.”

“But how would he get around both Cody and Master Kenobi?” Ahsoka asked and bit her lip.

“If he’s working with Dooku, and Dooku knows that we’re here, and knows our battle plans…” Fives trailed off.

“That answers our question.” Anakin said grimly.

“Which means that we probably don’t have a lot of time before Dooku shows up, and he’s probably trying to keep us separate from the 212th so that we won’t have enough men to match him.”

“So…. Now what?” Ahsoka asked, looking between Fives and Rex.

“Ahsoka, I need you to go with fives and find the rest of the men. Krell may be a Jedi master, but he won’t be able to take all of you together,” Anakin said.

“But what about you, sir?” Fives asked.

“I’m going to head over to where the 212th are stationed, see if I can get any information and send it back here. Keeps your comms on, we don’t want any more surprises.” Anakin said as he turned to walk back towards the hangar alone.

“And Ahsoka, be _careful_.” Anakin said, his posture relaxing for a moment and his expression changing to one of worry.

“I will.”

* * *

Anakin would have preferred to see something, someone, anything over the site that greeted him as he arrived at the 212th’s last location.

The new sets of barracks were destroyed, parts of ships and droids were thrown about everywhere, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. Anakin lit his saber, holding it in front of his face as he walked through the mess and the wreckage.

“General Skywalker?” A voice asked, and Anakin turned to face the source.

Coming out of the dark was Cody, who had turned the lights on his helmet off and took it off as he continued walking.

“What happened here, Cody?” Anakin asked as he looked around and lowered his blade.

“The separatists came, and there were too many of them,” he began and squeezed his eyes shut.

“They knocked out our communications, I don’t even know _how_ they got the information to do that.” He said as he held his helmet under one of his arms and looked at Anakin with a lost expression.

“We’ve been looking around, trying to find other survivors, but it’s been hard in the dark without any of our comms.”

“Where is Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked as the cold feeling began to crawl up his spine again.

Cody took a shaky breath in and opened his eyes again.

Anakin thought he saw a tear reflect the light of his blade.

“Dooku took him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are getting... tense...


End file.
